The Keys To The Door
by CorDynasty
Summary: The journey continues as the three heroes venture into an unknown world in search of King Mickey and Riku. However, the Heartless have re-appeared and there is the chance of other "keyblades" existing.
1. Elward City

**Chapter 1: Elward City**

The sun hangs alone in the sky with no stray clouds to keep its rays from beating down onto the trios heads. A light breeze blows from the west against the side of their faces, relieving them of the heat that they have accumulated on their 9-hour walk on the endless dirt path that goes miles and miles. It goes uphill and downhill, curves left to right through the pine trees, and will sometimes just go straight forward until it came upon another hill. The heroes were energetic and excited at the start of the quest when they encountered the kings companion, Pluto, who was holding an envelope in its mouth with the seal of Mickey Mouse on it. Now, they have slowed to a walk and have no idea where the dog has gone. They just couldnt keep up.

"Argh! How much more do we have to walk," Donald quacked angrily. The kings wizard had a short fuse, so was no doubt frustrated, especially after an exhausted battle against the tyrant, Ansem.

But Goofy, the one who always set things straight, replies in his kind but goofy talk:" W'ell get there, Donald, when we get there."

"But what is 'there'," Donald responded quickly.

"Well..." Goofy was unable to answer that question and let Donald win this round.

"So, Sora, what..." Goofy began before immediately stopping along with Donald. They both reply:" Where's Sora?"

The two look back to find the keyblade master facedown on the ground just a few feet from them. They face each other with shocked faces before running to Sora's aid. After a few minutes of rest, which is approximately twenty minutes, the three are back on the road to who knows where. Sora, quite embarrassed about his sudden faint, smiles innocently to try to have them forget about the little mishap of his. This time, however, Donald and Goofy keeps a close eye on Sora to make sure it never happens again.

They walk.…..walk.…..and walk some more. They take little breaks ever thirty minutes and continue to.…..thats right...…..walk. The group soon approaches a very large hill, the largest they've seen since they met Pluto. They stop and look up at their nearly-impossible-to-overcome obstacle and stare exhaustingly at it.

"If there are more and more hills over this, Im going to die before I open that 'door to the light,' Sora jadely remarks.

They inhale and exhale deeply before staring up the hill. Who would have known just a little walk uphill would be like an eternity of torture? As they near the top, the three wondered what lied beyond. If it was a rest place to gather food and water, they were saved. But if it was a never-ending span of hills and trees, their journey will end here and in such a peaceful place. Rather a pathetic end it would be for the keyblade crew.

They finally reach the peak and they're eyes take in a beautiful sight. A town with large buildings that can almost qualify it as a city sat just below at the base of the hill. A stone wall about 17 feet high surrounded it and its entrance was a similar-sized metal gate with a gray coating. Behind the gate stood two men, probably guards from Sora's view, and it seem they were talking. The trio gasped in excitement and say simultaneously:" A bed! Water! Food!!" They set off down the hill, renewed with encouragement……until Goofy suddenly trips over his own feet. Next thing they know, the three are rolling down the hill in a ball with Donald muffling screaming:" Goooofyyyyy!"

They all are screaming up till they reach the base of the hill and ram into the metal gate, breaking up the two guards' conversation. They lay one-by-one on top of each other groaning with Sora at the bottom, Donald in the middle, and Goofy finishing the tumbled sandwich. The gate slides open, having Sora, Donald, and Goofy look up. Their faces are met with two drawn pistols held in the two guards' right hands.

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Now that they were up close, it was easier to see how they looked: a single shoulder pad over the right shoulder, a steel chest plate, a green shirt underneath, black gloves, no sleeves to hide their biceps, baggy green pants, and black leather boots strapped from the ankle to the toes, black helmets that covered the ears and hair with a strap around the chin, so their only distinct features were their eyes.

The three sigh as they are met with yet another problem besides their fatigued legs. They just wanted to stay lying on the ground after that long walk. They were so tired that they'll even allow the Heartless to get free hits on them. One of the guards says to the grounded party in a deep and demanding tone:" Identify yourselves!" Behind the two, Sora can see few more guards already making their way to the gate.

"Sora," the keyblade wielder says hastily.

Goofy slightly raises his hand and replies:" Goofy."

Donald has his head resting in his left hand while he taps his fingers rythmically with his right, and wears a displeased frown on his face. He finally says:" Donald."

The two guards look at each other and then looks back at them.

"Get up and come with us. The mayor has been expecting your arrival." Just suggesting getting to their feet and walk made the trio tired. They manage to walk on their sore feet and look around as they follow the guards through the streets toward the mayor's building. A boy and girl are kicking back and forth what seems like a blitzball. Wakka, one of his friends who lives on Destiny Island, has one and said once to Sora that his father use to play it before his death. The ball is soon kicked a little too far, but Sora catches it and kicks it back to the two, who laugh and return to their game. A little ways down is a shop called "Vex's Shop." It probably contains potions and stuff Sora thought as he glanced at it. Across from it was "Wessler's Garage." This shop was closed down, however, with its windows boarded. They reach the steps that lead up to the doors of the mayors building. The doors are wooden and have knockers with emblems of a lizard.

The guards push open the doors revealing a large lobby quite dull with activity. The receptionist, an orange-haired woman in her early 20's with her head in a book, looks up from her desk as the strangers enter the building. Two doors are on the left and right walls each with two guards on post. In front of them is the biggest door, a double-door entrance to the mayor's office.

"Follow me," says a guard walking toward the office. The trio follows moments after gazing at the lovely pictures of people and animals on the walls and admiring the grand chandelier that lit the grand hall from above. The doors of the mayor's office are open and the three walk into the well-cleaned room with a desk that has neatly stacked papers and utensils such as pens and pencils within a cup. The nameplate that sat at the front of the desk has the name "Mayor Jerild Baker" engraved in its bronze covering. The chair behind the desk has its back toward Sora and the others.

The keyblade wielder hunches to Donald and Goofy before finally speaking:"Hello. I'm Sora and these are my friends…"

"Donald and Goofy," the voice in the chair says. The three put on puzzled faces.

Sora replies:"How do you know us?"

There is a chuckle before the chair turns around toward them. Sitting in it was the mayor leaned back, tapping his two pointing fingers against each other as they are near his lips. This mayor was more informally dressed than what his position was use to wearing. No tie, dress shirt, or starched pants. This mayor wore a light blue open vest with a sleeveless tight blue shirt underneath. He wore shades over his eyes, had an earring in his right ear, and styled a 5-inch neatly trimmed afro. For the lower part of him, he has on black jeans and leather shoes that are kept on with only a single strap across the ankle. His right wrist sports a silver watch with a black strap, and his left forearm has a tight blue cloth worn over it with is light brown skin tone still visible through the cloth's transparency.

There, the three stare at him and he stares back, that is, if he doesnt have his eyes closed secretly behind his black shades. After a minute of staring, the mayor stops tapping his fingers and nods, motioning the guard to leave the office.The sentry does as he say and closes the doors on his exit. The mayor leans forward and smirks.

He finally speaks:"Show me."

"Huh," says Sora confusedly.

"Show me the weapon."

"You mean this?"

Sora brings his right hand forward and the keyblade appears in a glistering light within his grasp. The silver blade shimmers up to the crown-shaped tip and the Mickey Mouse keychain dangles from the golden handle. Donald and Goofy smile excitedly, as if they were new to the key-shaped weapon. The mayor stares at it smiling and gets to his feet. He walks around to the front of the desk and removes his shades, displaying his brown-colored eyes that showed amusement.

"Welcome to Elward Town. I am Jerild Baker, mayor of this pleasant town." Jerild chuckles again as he says:"W-well. I didnt know who Mickey spoke of would turn out to be a kid."

"King Mickey?" Goofy and Donald say together.

"So he's a king? He didn't mention that title to me," Jerild replies puzzled.

Sora asks:"Where is he?"

Jerild replies:"Oh, he and his friend left here two days ago. They were really in a hurry."

"Did they say where they were heading to?" Sora says happily.

"Didn't tell me that, either," Jerild responds shaking his head. He takes a seat on top of his desk and continues:"Have you heard of something called…a Heartless?"

The three's attention is quickly captured and Sora answers:"Yeah, we know them. We've been fighting waves of them ever since I got this keyblade." Sora swings the blade around in saying this.

"So you won't be surprised to know that our town was attacked by them two days ago," Jerild says.

But he was wrong. They were surprised. They thought after sealing the door to Kingdom Hearts off and defeating Ansem, no more Heartless would appear.

Donald quacks:"How is that possible? Didn't we seal them off from the worlds?"

Sora turns his head to Donald and replies:"Looks like it didn't."

He looks back to Jerild who goes on with his story:"These Heartless began swarming around the place, attacking all in view. We got all the civilians to safety as we kept them back with our guns. But as one with down, more took its place. A few of my were devoured…and their corpses transformed into Heartless themselves. I couldn't belive my eyes!"

"Sora lowers his head and responds:"They steal a person of their heart and they, too, become like their foes."

"Just horrible. And we thought we were about to end up just like our fallen comrades until a few began to materialize into dark mist and disappear. And when they disappeared, a golden-bladed weapon shaped like a key became clearly visible."

Donald and Goofy say to each other:"King Mickey!"

"And right beside him stood his white-haired partner. With their help, we were able to clear the town of all those wicked creatures. They soon requested rest and we happily fulfilled their wishes. During a feast that night, Mickey and I talked. He told me a lot of things. And he must have had great trust in me, too, to tell them all to me. The Heartless, the worlds he has visited, the people he has helped, the keyblades that he and you wield. He said that I was to expect you soon, Sora."

Sora puts on a smile and says chuckling:"Well, that's me."

Jerild looks at Goofy then Donald, telling them how Mickey and his partner, Riku, mentioned their unbreakable loyalty to Sora. "Even when Riku possessed the keyblade, you two still stood up for Sora here." Donald and Goofy blush as Sora smiles widely.

Jerild gets off his desk:"Now, then. I know you three must be exhausted, so how about we get you three some beds?"

"Thank you!" the three respond relieved.

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In the city inn, the three sleep. Donald is storing with his muffled quack. Goofy's snore, however,is more quiet and peaceful. Sora is lying in bed awake with his hands behind his head and him staring at the ceiling in a state of thought. He was wondering why the Heartless were still appearing. Maybe they were a group that got stuck in this world when Kingdom Hearts was sealed. That was a good explanation for it. Sora shrugs and turns over to lay on his side. He looks out through the window into the clear night sky with the moon glowing brightly in the black layer of stars. It was an amazing sight. Sora gets out of his bed and walks over to the window. He opens it slowly to not wake Donald and Goofy and rests his arms on the sill as he gazes into the sky.

He lowers his view to the streets below. Lit lampposts line the stone-paved roads and a couple of guards are seen at their post enjoying a good cigarette. It has been while since Sora has seen such a calm sight. He begins to returns to his bed when a flicker of light catches his eye. Sora turns back around to search for its source. He sees someone in the street who wasn't there before. A small boy, about Sora's age, stands quietly away from the lights. After a few moments, he turns and disappears into the shadows. The keyblade master gives in to his curiosity and exits slowly out the room. He walks down the stairs and enters out into the street. A lamppost stands to his right, beaming its light unto the street. Sora looks around and starts left, toward the direction that the boy vanished.

To avoid several guards on the way, Sora sneaks by them through the shadows of the buildings. There wasn't a problem getting seen by them, but he wanted to keep his presence a secret to the boy he was pursuing. Sora continues through the streets until he finds the boy with his back to him. A long braid drops down to his feet from his greased back hair. As Sora approaches him, the boy walks into the alley on his right, and Sora follows after into the dark alley. When he enters it, he finds the boy nowhere. He walks deeper to see if the boy was hidden within the darkest shadows, but does not find him. Sora scratches his head in confusion. He knew he saw the boy enter through the alley. He couldn't have simply vanished into thin air! Well, he certainly wasn't here, so Sora turns and begins to leave until something jumps onto him from above, bringing Sora to the ground. Sora turns on his back and wrestles with the shadowy figure.

"Get off of me!" Sora yells.

The figure, as if hearing this, stops and jumps away. Sora gets to his feet and says:"Who are you?"

"I'd like to ask you the same thing," a voice from the figure replies.

Some shuffling in front of Sora is heard before a light comes on. The figure turns out to be the boy Sora had saw in the street and with a yellow glow stick in the guys hand, he is able to make out his appearance. He wore a short sleeve shirt with a darker shade seperated from the lighter present on the sleeves. He has leather guantlets strapped to his forearms, wears baggy pants, and shoes that had shoelaces instead of straps that he has been seeing lately. On his left ear he wore an earring and around his neck a chain with a crested moon at the end. His eyes reflected the glowing light with a soft glimmer. The color of his clothing, however, was overshadowed with the radiating yellow light.

The boy brings the light closer to Sora and says:"Wait, you're that guy the guards brought in, today. What are you doing here, anyway?"

Sora answers:"We're only here to stay for the night. Wait a minute! What are you doing here yourself at this time of the night?"

The boy answers after a pause:"I saw something moving in the shadows."

Sora immediately believes it is a Heartless he saw. Looks like Mickey and Riku missed one. Sora looks around and whispers:"It may be a Heartless."

"A Heartless?" the boy whispers much louder. Sora quiets him and the two look round.

"Yeah, most likely, but don't worry about it."

Sora summons his keyblade and the boy replies with:"Woah!"

A noise is heard from behind him, having the boy turn and direct his light at the end of the alley. Only a small garbage can sat silently in the narrow passageway. Sora wasn't convinced. He walks slowly toward the garbage can, sneaking slowly with the keyblade ready to swing. He slowly puts his free hand on the lid and turns to the boy, who is surprisely calm, yet curious of what is about to happen. Sora quickly removes the lid…but finds nothing. He becomes a little disappointed and shoulders his weapon. He turns around and freezes in shock.

A small Shadow Heartless was standing behind the boy, who replies:"What's wrong?"

Sora did not want to cause any alarm, especially at this time of night, so he slowly walks toward the boy as if nothing is wrong. As Sora gets closer, the Heartless seems to become more active, having him stop his approach. The boy begins to walk toward Sora, but Sora demands him to not move. The boy turns slowly to look behind him and shines the light on the Heartless. He drops the glow stick and runs to Sora's side.

"It was behind me?!" the boy exclaims.

Sora places his weapon out forward and replies:"They're sneaky, arent they? Dont worry. This one is going to be easy."

He takes his approach toward the creature until an additional one appears beside it.

"Well, two of you shouldnt be a problem," Sora responds assured of victory.

But another and another starts to pop up around it, their glowing orange-red eyes clustering by one another, and they block their path out of the alley. The keyblade master was surely in for a strenous brawl.


	2. The Moon Glows Bright

**Chapter 2: The Moon Glows Bright**

Sora takes two steps back as more and more Shadow Heartless spawn at the entrance of the alley. Sora's new accomplice, a curious boy of his age, stands a few feet away to not get within danger's harm.

Sora becomes impatient and spins his keyblade as he cries out:"You want me? Come and get me!"

The Heartless lunge at the keyblade wielder mercilessly, yet Sora slashes through them with great ease. "Haha!" "Yeah!" "Take this!" are the battle cries the boy hears, as his companion destroys the Heartless with great excitement. The pony-tailed fellow watches this and begins to wish he, too, possessed the courage to experience the same joy for battle. It just he couldn't stand the thought of an atmosphere that will contain only death and suffering all around him.

The Heartless suddenly back away. Sora steps back, also to recover his breath, yet is grinning as if he can go forever. But he begins to wonder why they have stopped their assault and are only staring at him. Sora swings his keyblade left and right to try to get their attention, but it does not help. Now, he sees they have their attention on something else. Sora turns around and sees his companion on his knees with his hands on his head, shaking it. He has his eyes closed tight and seems to muttering something. Sora now realized that the Heartless have now found a more vulnerable target to relive of his heart, putting Sora into a guard position.

"Don't you dare…"

Sora can't finish his sentence as the creatures begin jumping toward him agressively, desiring to only get past him. Sora is able to destroy them as they come, yet more and more begin to appear from the shadows of the alley, having the keyblde wielder back steadily toward the boy.

"Hey!" Sora shouts. "You know a way out of here?" Sora is busy swinging rapidly at the Shadow Heartless.

The tramatized boy snaps out of his episode and notices that Sora is in big trouble. He gets to his feet and replies:"Uh…yeah! There's a ladder above you!" Sor takes a glance above him and sees the ladder leading up to the roof of the building it rested on.

"You first!" Sora cries trying his best to not get them close enough to their destination.

The boy runs over to the ladder and jumps, grabbing it. He then climbs up it quickly like a scared little monkey raveling up a tree. Sora spins clock-wise with his keyblade out forward and destroys many of the Heartless closest to him. This gives him enough time to jump onto the ladder and climb up to the roof.

Once he arrives, Sora looks down into the sea of yellow eyes and begins to suspect that maybe the defeat of Ansem really didn't change anything, only halted the Heartless travel between worlds. And these Heartless are natural, not custom-made like Ansem's dark monsters, so the source of them has now come into question once again.

"What are we going to do now?" the boy asks.

This time, their light came from the moon above, the great white glow revealing the true colors of the boys clothing. A turquoise shirt, blue pants, and his skin was light brown, the same as Mayor Jerilds. The leather gauntlets and shoes were dark blue.

Sora walks over to him and plces his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well, first thing we need to do is get you to safety."

"No!"

"What?" Sora replies.

"I mean…I want to help."

Sora shakes his head and responds:"Listen, this is not a situation that you should be entering. The Heartless, if they get their hands on you, will devour your heart in an instant and I believe that is something that you do not want to happen."

The boy lowers his head and replies:"Okay."

Sora smailes and says:"There is one thing you can do. Run to the mayor and have him alert the city about this."

The boy nods and runs over to the oppposite edge of the roof. He examines the streets below to make sure no Heartless are below and makes a leap onto the ground. Sora returns to look into the alley he had just left, but the Shadow Heartless have disappeared. He jumps down into the gutter and looks around, yet sees no Heartless anywhere. A gunshot is heard around the corner.

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Light after light comes on through the windows of the once sleeping buildings at the instant the burst of sound erupted. People begin to peek out and guards start toward the direction of the disturbance. Sora exits the alley into the street, but all of a sudden he sees two guards smothered by the little Shadow Heartless, the men's screams silenced as the relentless creatures pile onto them. Sora takes his keyblade and slashes the Heartless away from the guards, getting rid of the ones that were mainly atop the victims. He finally clears out the creatures and checks to to see if the guards were okay. The two sentries sit there in shock, heavily breathing and probably scared to death.

Three guards run to their comrades and help them to their feet. "What happened?"

"The Heartless," Sora answers.

"The Heartless? I thought we rid the town of those treacherous things!"

"Apparently, they must have been in hiding, witing until they felt it was time to strike again."

The commanding guard turns to his partners and orders them to alert the town and get everyone to lock their doors and windows. They nod and rush out, seperating into different directions. Sora assists the remaining guard in carrying the two stunned sentries to a nearby post. The guards are put safely there, and Sora leaves with a friendly wave.

He heads for the hotel until the sounds of the town bell his heard ringing throughtout the place. Sora stops and sees many of the guards gathering into the streets, loading their guns and hurdling out in teams of four as directed by a commander. Vex has accomplished his task.

Sora arrives at the hotel and finds Goofy and Donald already out front with their weapons drawn. Goofy's shield is rimmed with yellow around a blue and silver layer of colors with the symbol of King Mickey lying in the middle of them. Donald's staff is blue with yellow bands at each end. The head of the staff resembled a wizards head, its shadowy face covered mostly by a jagged, pointed wizard hat. He finally gets to them and informs the two about the appearance of the Heartless.

"Oh, no!" Goofy exclaims.

"Yeah, and they seem to be appearing in great numbers," Sora finishes.

Multitudes of gunshots are heard from around the town. Sora, Donald, and Goofy bundle up to protect themselves from all sides. Another flurry of bullets are heard near the mayors building, having the trio run toward it. Several Shadow Heartless block their way, wiggling their little antennas, ready to attack them with no ferof their wielded weapons.

"Let's get them!" Donald quacks.

The three charge their confronters. Sora destroys four Heartless in two swings, Goofy uses a spinning attack that destroys two more, and Donald fires spurts of Firagas at the remaining four Heartless which destroys them each with one hit. The group has defeated their foes under ten seconds. They continue to the mayors building, but more Heartless confront them, however they are only a bunch of pushovers to the trio's combined strength. Many of the guards take out some of the Heartless themselves, requiring only one shot from their pistols and machine guns to decimate the creatures into nothingness.

At the entrance to the building, Jerild gestures for them to come inside. The three soon stand within the grand hall, trying to catch their breaths. Standing beside Jerild is the boy Sora had sent to alarm the mayor, and he is looking a little afraid.

Jerild says to them as he takes off his shades:"Vex told me about the Heartless appearing just in time to alert the town."

"Vex?" Sor says surprised. "So that means you own that shop…"

"That's right," the boy answers quickly, as if he is proud of it.

Jerild responds:"We're going to have to…"

"No!" Vex says as he turns to Jerild with a raised fist.

"Listen, Vex, we cannot take another Heartless attack! Our only hope is to abandon the city."

"But I grew up here! How can you expect me to leave so easily? Not without a fight!"

Vex runs toward a door on the eastern wall, his long braid following behind, and disappears through the opened enrty. Jerild runs after him.

"What now? We cant sit here doing nothing," Donald quacks impatiently.

Sora hunches his keyblade back and replies with a courageous tone:"We fight on!"

He raises his keyblade. Goofy's shield and Donald's staff joins Sora's weapon.

Goofy cries out:"All for one..."

The three then shout out all together:"And one for all!"

They open the doors and see a barrage of bullets hammering away at the many Heartless closing in on the mayor's quarters. The guards have their backs toward the building, trying to keep up the attack, but too many seem to be spawning uncontrollably. The town was lost.

"Donald," Sora cries out for his wizardry friend to use Graviga to crush the surrounding Heartless.

Together, Sora and Donald begin using the spells consistently. It helps lessen the Heartless army, but soon more come to take their places.

"The other guards have already evacuated the citizens," one guard yells to his comrades. Into the building!"

The guards and the three heroes enter into the hall and close thedoors shut, locking it.

Jerild reappears with a scared expression on his face without his shades present. "Vex is gone," the mayor exclaims. "He escaped through a window! I got to go after him!"

The guards stop him as he tries to re-open the doors:"No, sir! There are too many of them!"

"But he's my son!"

Sora nods in unison with Donald and Goofy and says to Jerild:"Well find him! Is there a way to the roof?"

Minutes later, the three, the guards, and the mayor look overthe edge of the roof, taking notice of all the Shadow Heartless surrounding the building, waiting for a single chance to get to them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumps onto a roof just a few feet away and begin going from roof to roof, looking down into each street for Vex.

"Vex! Vex!" the three constantly yelled as they pass from roof to roof. They stop and seem to lose hope for him.

"Well...he isn't here," Donald begins.

"He can't be...," Sora says before looking up at the tallest building in the city.

The moon glows brightest over this structure and is an amazing site to see, even at this time of turmoil. A figure is seen on the rooftop. Sora makes it out as Vex.

"Vex!" Sora shouts. "It's me, Sora! Down here!"

But is he is only able to grab the Heartless attention as they gather under the building they stood on. They have to get to Vex before the Heartless do.

"Stopga!" Sora cries.

A clock symbol appears above the Heartless with a spinning hand. The hand soon slowed to a stop, leaving the Heartless frozen in time.

"Go!"

The three leap from the rooftop into the crowd of motionless creatures and rushes into the building before the Heartless realizes what had just happened. Up the twenty flights of stairs they go, running quickly to Vex's aid. They breach the roof and find Vex staring blankly at the moon in front of them.

"Vex, we must get out of here while we still can," Sora says. But there is no reply from the boy.

Sora walks forward to him until a sight halts his steps. A giant black figure rises in front of the moons light. Its face is covered with tentacles from its head with only its yellow eyes visible. It has a heart-shaped hole in the stomach area. This shadowy creature stood from the ground up, towering over the building they stand on.

"Darkside," Sora whispers.

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Vex stands there not moving at all. Sora, Donald, and Goofy run over to Vex, but the giant Heartless grabs the boy with its left hand and raises him up to its face for a closer view.

The trio spawn their weapons and Sora yells out:"Let go of him!"

It looks back to the group and sends its free fist crashing down onto the roof, but the trio were already on the move. Sora runs up its right arm and slashes the creature's face. A mist of darkness spews from the area of impact, yet the creature does not flinch. Goofy rockets toward the creature's face and connects with a shield impaled into Darkside's mouth area. After Donald releases a few Firagas, powerful fire projectiles, Darkside releases Vex from its grip. Sora grabs Vexs hand from the edge of the roof, but loses his balance and begins to fall over, too.

However, Goofy grabs Soras feet and Donald is pulling Goofy by the waist.

Sora shouts to Vex:"Don't let go!"

Vex recovers from his shock and sees himself in an unlikely stuation. Below the, the Heartless were bundling up, just waiting for the boy to lose his grip so they could consume his helpless heart. Donald and Goofy pull with all their might and finally get everyone safely back onto the roof. Vex sits on the ground with his mouth wide open as gazed at the inflicted giant Darkside. Sora, Donald, and Goofy look on as it roared in pain.

But suddenly, dark mist starts to swarm around the beast. Its shoulders begin to grow out and become sharper, and a horn erupts from Darkside's forehead. Its claws lengthen, also, as well as the tentacles moving around its head. The hollow area of its stomach becomes full and a purple symbol resembling a heart with spikes appears on the front. And its change from a glowing yellow to a seaming red.

A normal Darkside became a much wickier Heartless.

"Uh-oh," the trio say in unison.

They back away as it approaches the building again. Vex is too scared to even move from his spot.

"Hehe....nice Heartless," Goofy says hesitately.

Sora stops his retreat and regains his courage. He swings his keyblade forward and yells out:"You don't scare us! Right, guys?"

Donald and Goofy walk forward and relpy:"Right!"

They release a battle cry and lunge at the creature. Sora jumps from the roof and lands onto its right arm again and runs up to its face for another whack. He swings forward the blade and gets a direct hit....but it doesn't go through its shadowy head this time, rather it stops on impact....as if it was just a blunted blade. Sora becomes astounded. He redraws his blade and uses a thrust, but it does not pierce it shadowy flesh at all! Goofy and Donald witness this unpredictable event and charge for Darkside. Goofy jumps from the roof toward it, but the giant creature knocks him away with a slap from its left hand. The knight slides across the roof's surface, legs in the air. Vex watches this, hating that he couldn't do anything to help. Donald lauches Firagas at it, but this time the fireballs leave no mark. Sora keeps hacking away at the shadowy face, but it is unable to pierce the new and improved Darkside. It finally turns its attention to Sora.

Sora backs away and smiles childishly at it before taking off down its arm to the roof. But it raises its right arm and moves it away from the roof, giving the keyblade master nowhere to run.

"Sora!" his friends yell as they try their best to gets its attention, but it is no use.

Darkside raises its left hand, preparing for a final attack on Sora. The keyblade wielder, horrified, looks everywhere for a place to jump, but they were all out of reach. He wants to fly or use his gliding abilities, but they seem to not work in the world they are present in. This could be the end.

"Sora!" Vex shouts loudly. He was standing erect with his fists balled up, and has a determined look on his face.

"Hey, you!" he shouts again.

Darkside slowly turns toward the boy, as if Vex was actually more important than killing Sora. As it stares at Vex with its glowing red eyes, some of the boys courage starts to fade away, but he keeps his ground and replies:"That's right! I'm the one you want! Isnt my heart more tastier than his measly little one?"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy fall flat on their faces in embarrasement at Vex's 'brave' remark, yet the giant Heartless becomes to consider this and turns back toward the building. Sora uses this time to jump from its arm that has came close to the roof. Donald and Goofy group together to catch their friend and they suceed, however, the three have become grounded on top of each other.

Vex and Darkside stare at each other, not one moving nor making a sound. The moon made the Heartless appear as a silhouette in front of the bright glow in the sky. Vex closes his eyes and grabs his chain necklace, enclosing it in his right hand.

"I will not fear you! I will not fear you! I will not fear you!" Vex says constantly in his mind and as he does, a great light starts to emit from within his closed fist.

A number of glistering lights hover around him and a wind seems to pick up. Sora, Donald, and Goofy stare wide-eyed at this phenomenom, confused at what's happening here. Vex yanks off his necklace and holds his fist out forward with his eyes still closed.

But as he opens them, he quietly says in a low tone:"I will not fear you."

The lights assemble around the foward hand and start to extend out, forming some type of object. Darkside roars back in a gesture of disbelief. The lights disappear. The trio becomes surprised at what they see. So do Vex. Within Vex's grasp is a keyblade. The blade is silver with the symbol of a crescent moon at the tip instead of the crown that is on Soras weapon; it also appeared much sharper and slimmer. And hanging from its black handle was Vex's moon piece that his necklace beared. Off in his thoughts, Vex hears a voice that mutters:"The Moon Key." Vex repeats this from his mouth and looks at this new item closely. In the light of the moon in the sky, the keyblade gives off a mystic shine and glows brightly in Vex's hand. A white aura appears around the weapon and a feeling of unbelievable strength swarms throughout Vex's body.

He raises the keyblade into the air and shouts:"The Moon Key!"

A new keyblade has emerged...what does this mean to the heroes? It means a new mystery has breached the surface...


	3. Leaving Home

Chapter 3: Leaving Home 

Sora, Donald, and Goofy are speechless as they stare at this wonderous new weapon within the grip of Vex's right hand. A keyblade…and a more magical-looking one, at that. The glowing aura that is surrounding the weapon matches the same glow as the moon, reflecting the glanderous white light above with pure excellence. The foe Vex is facing stares continuously at this new item and seems to not want to move at all.

Vex, eyes open wide and mouth in awe, slowly turns the keyblade around, examining every detail engraved on it. The handle is not the ordinary square shape like the Kingdom Key wielded by Sora. Instead, it seems to be in a curved shape, with two opposite corners of the handle having the longest bends.

The heroes finally get to their feet, but keep their distance. Somehow, they know it is not their fight, that Vex wants to fight it one-on-one and prove he is worthy of possessing such a weapon. The boy gets into a guard position and points the Moon Key toward Darkside.

"Alright, it's my turn to take you down," yells Vex.

"You do know how to use it, right, Vex," says Sora standing behind him.

Vex turns toward the three, but replies:"Uh…yeah…"

"Vex, do you know how to use a sword?"

"Well…I never really….used any swords before."

"Oh, man." The three sigh.

"But I learn fast!"

Vex turns back toward Darkside. "What should I do first?"

"First off…get out the way!"

The right fist of Darkside comes slamming down onto the roof, but Vex is able to roll out the way in time.

"Attack the hand, now!" Sora shouts out.

Vex recovers and swings his keyblade at the grounded fist. The weapon slashes through the dark hand, the white aura following the swing of the blade and dark mist erupting from the area of impact. The boy follows up with three more swings before Darkside retreats its hand from the roof. Vex smiles, appreciating his first triumph with the awesome power of the Moon Key.

He turns to Sora and says happily:"Did you see that? I got him good, did't I?"

Sora puts a thumb up and brings forward his weapon. He says to Donald and Goofy:"Let's give him some backup!"

"But your keyblade…" Goofy says.

"Don't worry. Its head is just not a weak spot anymore."

When Sora looks back toward Vex, he finds the joyful boy slashing away at Darkside's head from its right shoulder with the giant Heartless trying to get the keyblade wielder off it. Sora, Donald, and Goofy stand there with their mouths dropped in shocked.

But Sora shakes out of it and shouts:"Vex, get down! That's too dangerous!"

Vex stops his assault and shouts back:"I'M too dangerous! This thing is easy!"

After those words, however, Darkside roars loudly and grabs Vex with its left hand, squeezing the boy almost to where he couldn't breath.

"Help!" he cries as he struggles to escape the creatures grasp.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy charge at Darkside to his rescue. Goofy hops onto the closed fist and pulls by Vexs hands to get him out. Sora and Donald stay on the roof and cast different spells at Darkside to keep it distracted. But Thundaga, Firaga, Blizzaga, Stopga…all their magic seem to inflict no damage on the Heartless at all.

"This is bad," Donald quacks. "Very bad!"

Goofy pulls with all his might to release Vex from Darkside's grip, but is not successful. The knight quickly jumps off the fist to dodge a swift slap from the monster's free hand. Their attacks are doing nothing to this beast and all hope seems to dim at the thought of this.

"We only have one chance left to defeat this creature," Sora says to the group. "Vex!"

The skirmishing boy lets out a difficult "Yeah?".

"Use your keyblade!"

"What good---will that help me," Vex shouts while still trying to get out of the Heartless's relentless grip.

"Trust me! Attack its fist! It may let you go!"

"Are you sure?" Vex looks below and sees countless Heartless already bunched up under the giant Darkside, like baby birds waiting for their next meal from their parent.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy witness this, too, now realizing that all hope is lost.

"We can't let the Heartless win!" Sora cries out, gripping the edge of the roof tightly. "They just can't!" Sora looks up at Vex and yells to him:"Come on, Vex! You can do it! Believe!"

Vex looks down at Sora, noticing the vigilance present in the hero's eyes. He couldn't be the boy who always called for help, anymore. He couldn't be the boy who sat there that night when the Heartless invaded Elward Town for the first time and consumed all those people's hearts while he hid quietly in his room, waiting for his father and the guards to clear the town of them. He couldn't…not anymore.

Vex raises his hand into the air and spawns the Moon Key and yells before swinging down the glowing weapon through the creature's dark fist. He begins swinging nonstop at Darkside's fist, leaving the blade's traces in a bright light, until finally the creature lossens its grip, allowing Vex to get free. The boy jumps onto the Heartless's left arm and runs up it to the face. The tentacles lash at Vex's as he approches, but he dodges them with a few jumps and rolls. He reaches his target and thrusts forward his weapon into the center of the creature's face, releasing a smog of dark mist through the new wound. Vex pulls out his blade and performs a battle cry before swinging his keyblade vertically down through the face and adding more dark haze to the air.

He runs back down the arm and hops onto the roof just before the Heartless has time to retaliate. Darkside skirms around in pain, holding its face with its hands, wondering what I had just happened to it. More dark mist appears, this time around the entire body and it starts to encircle the giant Heartless, obscuring the view of it. The four look on in wonder as Darkside growls in pain, and at last vanishes within its own darkness. The four look at each other before realizing that they had defeated their tyranny foe.

They all high-five in the center of them and shout in excitement of their victory, Donald jumping up and down, a contrast to his usual moody attitude.

Vex and Sora shakes hands as Sora replies:"Nice job, Vex! You handled that weapon of yours quite well!"

"Hehe.Thanks…"

"Oh! The name's Sora. These two are my friends, Donald and Goofy." The two wave to Vex at the mention of their names.

"Nice to meet all of you." But Vex suddenly loses his happy expression and changes it to a more sorrowful look. "I apologize for pulling you three into this. I shouldn't have ran away."

"No, you shouldn't have," Donald quacks, now angry since Vex reminded them.

Sora responds:"It's okay. Something good did come out of all of this, after all."

"That's right. That keyblade of yours," Goofy replies.

"Oh yeah!" Vex holds the still-glowing weapon forward, so they can all get a closer look at it.

"You called it the Moon Key?" Sora asks.

"Yeah…that's what this weird voice said to me.

"A voice?" Sora responds.

The four start back down the stairs of the building to the streets. As they are running, Vex asks:"How are we going to get through all those Heartless things?"

Sora smiles and replies:"We'll get through them like we always do."

"Right!" Vex smiling back.

They arrive at the bottom of the stairs and push open the doors. In front of them are masses and masses of Shadow Heartless peering in their direction. Just off in the distance is the Mayor's building, not yet taken over.

"Come on!" Sora shouts.

They all spawn their weapons and charge into the Heartless crowd. Sora launches the first attack, but it happens again. His keyblade is unable to pierce through the creatures, and this time the monsters are much smaller than him, so he is able to at least push them out of the way.

"What?" Sora says surprised.

"Just knock them out of the way!" Donald quacks frustuated. "We'll deal with that later!"

Sora, not very happy with Donald's comment, agrees with him anyway and swings away the small Heartless. Vex spawns the Moon Key and swings the radiating weapon forward, however, something intriguing happens. The path of his slash turns into a glowing projectile and launches forward, piercing through the many Heartless in its path before its end. The boy, quite shocked, takes another look at his blade and swings the keyblade forward again. Another energy crescent is made and it destroys many more of their foes. Sora, Donald, and Goofy become amazed again at the magnificence of this new item and finally know that the Shadow Heartless are nothing but dust in their way. They dash forward toward the mayor's hall, slashing and knocking away every Heartless that got in their way. Donald's and Sora's magic still affected these little buggers, so the powerful thundaga spells gave the group a clear path to follow toward their destination.

Up on the roof of the building, Jerild looks down at the Heartless with his binoculars and sees a welcoming sight. His son, along with the visitors, are making their way toward the building, and he becomes very surprised to find Vex actually fighting.

"To the hall," Jerild shouts to the guards and they all run downstairs. The doors open with Jerild greeting them. The guards run out and cover the group while they make their way inside, and close the door as Donald runs hastily last inside the building.

Jerild walks over to Vex, who lowers his head in shame for his trouble-making.

"Now why are you doing that?" Jerild says to Vex smiling.

The boy raises his head and smiles back at his father.

Jerild looks toward the doors, which are now rumbling with the beating sounds of the Heartless trying to get in. The mayor puts on his shades slowly and says:"This is it, you all. It is time for us to leave Elward Town."

Vex loses his smile, and a few of the guards look down at their feets, wanting to shake off the fact that they have lost their only home. Sora, Donald, and Goofy feel their sorrow and become disappointed, too.

After a moment of silence, despite the bashing against the door, Vex raises his head and says to his father:"I'm ready."

Jerild turns slowly to Vex. Vex repeats:"I'm ready."

Jerild, although shocked at his son's words, nods in agreement. The commander of the guard unit, distinguished from his comrades with a blue helmet and star-shaped badge, walks forward and replies:"We're ready, right, men?"

"Right!" the guards shout out loud, although many of them not meaning it.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy nod. Jerild smiles and says to everyone:"I'm ready, too. Captain, does Wessler got the transport ready?"

"Yes, sir," the commander replies. "Wessler, says its good to go.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy look at each other in wonder. They thought they saw the Wessler garage closed down.

"Transport?" Sora asks.

Jerild faces the three and answers:"Yes, but we have to get to the garage first."

"Leave it to us, Dad," Vex responds heroically.

Jerild draws his pistol and cocks it back replying:"Hey, I won't just let you have all the fun."

Five minutes later, the entire group is out in the streets, making their way to the garage, while at the same time, clearing their path of the merciless Heartless. Vex gets rid of a lone Heartless that was jumping toward his father with one swing, his father repaying the favor by destroying a Heartless that was heading for his son, too, with a single shot from his firearm. One Heartless grabs onto Sora's blade, the wielder trying to shake it off. But he gets rid of it by launching it into the air with a Firaga projectile.

They reach Wessler's Garage and the once boarded door slides open, allowing the group to enter. Jerild leads them down some stairs into a corridor and opens the door to the basement. It is the largest basement that Sora, Donald, and Goofy have ever seen in their lives. The actual garage was here and it held a very astounding sight. Held above the ground by mechanical arms from the ceiling is a gummi ship. A world-traveling vehicle is right there in front of their eyes. The cockpit, along with the body, is entirely blue, the glass darkly tinted over the driver's seat. The armor parts are composed of Protect-G's and a few Shell-G's, which greatly surrounded the cockpit area. The wings are decent black Aerora'G's. Behind the ship are three engines. Two, each on one wing, are Fira-G's and the main one directly at the back is a Firaga-G's. Under each wing there is a Thunder-G, weapons that fire lasers forward. Also equipped to this ship is a Shield-G to reduce damage of any attack that may come toward its way.

The size, however, is what really amazed them. Unlike the three-person cargo size of their previous ship, this gummi ship is big enough to hold up to ten times more load. The three walk forward slowly, viewing the enormous vehicle with both appreciation and wonder. Standing on a platform that is raised up to the ship is a middle-aged man. The slim mechanic has slicked back gray and black hair, a well-cut beard, and wears a grey jumper suit, a usual wear of many mechanics.

The guy turns to everyone and waves. "Well, you're finally here," the man hollers.

The man lowers the platform he is on by use of a control panel at the side and walks over to them.

"Jerild, my good man."

The mayor walks over to the mechanic and greets him with a friendly handshake:"It's good to see you again, Wessler." Jerild looks up at the ship and says:"Wow, Wessler. You really got this thing upgraded from the last time I saw it."

"Ever since that meteor shower, I've found many new gummi blocks that fell from the sky. Like that Firaga-G." Wessler points to the engine. "With it, we'll be able to fly like the wind."

Jerild smiles and says:"Well, done. Does it still work?"

"Does it?"

Wessler pulls out a small device and pushes one of the buttons on it. The metal arms holding the ship up are let up. Instead of falling to the ground, however, the vehicle stays afloat in its current position, now hovering on its own.

"Good job, Wessler."

Vex walks to the side of the three heroes and says cheerfully:"Sure is a beaut', isn't she?"

The three nod with their mouths still open and reply:"Uh-huh."

Vex walks forward and continues:"We had another one that was much smaller than this, but we let that Mickey fellow keep it. He did deserve it after all."

"What is the ship called," asks Sora.

Vex rubs his nose and puts his arms to his side, getting into a gallant stance as he stands under the floating ship. "Its name is Elwardragon."

"Nice name. Where did you all get this ship?"

Jerild walks over to them and says:"Alright, its time to board the ship. Everyone, onboard now!"

The entire crew enter into the transport, now on the ground, with Wessler and Jerild sitting at the controls. Vex walks to the side of his father to see the many buttons and gadgets present on the panel. The three sit behind them in seats of their own. In the room before, the ten guards, including the commander, sit in chairs sat against the wall and strap themselves in the seatbelts. The others do the same.

"It's time for lift-off," Wessler says into the intercom put throughout the ship. "Make sure you have your seatbelts on. This is going to be a bumpy ride."

Wessler pushes one single button, and the entire ship comes to life. The controls light up, the ship's overhead light flashes on, and the engines begin to run. Vex gets into a seat beside Sora and puts on his seatbelt, smiling at his new friend.

Jerild presses another button, which turns off all the lights within the garage to where only the ship was the only source of light left. Wessler then presses, yet, another button. This time, the ceiling above them begins to open. Above the ceiling is another which opens, and another after that. It took about five ceiling openings before they were able to see the stars in the sky. Before pressing an additional button, Wessler whirls his finger around in a gesture of proudness. This action causes the ship to float upward toward the opening. Jerild brings down three screens, with a push of a button yet again, and turns them on. The left screen displays what is to their left, the right screen displays what is to the right, and the middle screen displays what is behind them. The pane of glass in front gave them a great view of what will lie ahead.

The ship arrives above the roof and the acceleration upward ceases. Using a manuverable camera present outside the ship, Jerild brings out another screen from above that displays its view. The mayor has it to look down into the streets. They see what they expected to see; a multitude of Shadow Heartless looking up at the Elwardragon.

"Woah," Vex says in a low, but strectched out tone.

Sora gazes on with him and replies:"Yeah, they're very persistent, aren't they?"

"Where do they come from?"

Sora continues to look on. He finally answers after a pause:"I have no idea myself. But we believe that they come from the darkness in everyone's hearts."

Vex turns his head to him and replies:"Darkness in our hearts?"

"Don't be scared. Whether we have darkness in our hearts or not, just remember: we all have a light present in us that will never diminish.

Vex nods his head and says smiling again:"Right."

"We got a problem, guys," says Wessler.

Rising from behind the buildings are the new versions of Darkside, all four looking toward the ship with their menacing glare.

"What the heck are those?" Wessler says leaning forward.

Jerild replies:"Something we do not want to meet up close. Let's get out of here."

"But their blocking the way we want to go."

Jerild looks over at Wessler and smiles:"Are they really, Wessler?"

The mechanic snickers and pulls out a cigar. He lights it and smokes it calmly, seating back in his chair. He then sits straight up and grabs the steering stick.

"Hold on to your hats, guys! Like I said….this is going to be a bumpy ride!"

Wessler presses a button and the ship launches off forward. Sora, Donald, and Goofy feel themselves being restrained to their seats as the speed of the Elwardragon goes to exceeding limits.

"Obstacle one," Wessler says.

A Darkside walks toward the ship with its arms ready to knock it out the sky. But Wessler only grins as he speeds toward the creature with no fear. As the two are about to collide, Wessler quickly turns the ship to the right, flying under the assaulting arm of the Heartless.

"Three more, Wessler. Sure you can take them?" Jerild says to his buddy.

"You're kidding, right?"

This time, there is two Darksides that the ship must dodge and they look more than ready to bring the ship to the ground. The Darkside in the front sends its right fist forward, but Elwardragon dives under it, through the creature's legs. However, the Darkside behind it follows up with a fist of its own, but again Wessler gets the ship around it. He, also, adds his own style to his evasion by spiraling around the creature before continuing on their path.

"Haha, this is too easy! Just one more to go!"

"Uh, where is the fourth on?" Jerild says looking in the screens and out the window.

The heroes look around, too, but cannot see it anywhere. Jerild has the ship's free camera look up into the sky and finds the remaining Darkside flying in the air. Its wings are much, much larger than the tiny ones its kind is use to having. Probably another feature that the new Darksides possess.

"Well….this one's going to give me some fun," Wessler responds, taking a few puffs of his cigar. "Time to test out the new Haste-G gummi block I acquired."

Wessler presses a button. From under the ship, the special gummi block appears from its hatch. The three know the power of the gummi block, so inform Vex to hold on. Wessler warns the guards in the back of the ancipated event.

"Time to zoom off!"

He activates the Haste-G block and the ship dashes off, almost about to the exit the town. But the flying Heartless speeds after them, its giant wings making a big _woosh_ after each flap. And despite the speed boost of the Haste-G, the Darkside is still gaining on the Elwardragon with great agility, considering its size.

"It's after us," Vex exclaims.

"I see that," Wessler replies. "No, bother. I can take them down easily with the Thunder-G's.

:I'll take care of it," Jerild replies.

He starts the offensive system, turning the Thunder-G's present on the ship's wings toward the rear, at Darkside. Crosshairs appear on the screen displaying the back view of the ship and hone onto the shadowy creature. Jerild grabs his personal control stick and presses the button atop it, causing lasers to emit from the weapons and shoot into Darkside. He continues to press it, showering the Heartless with an array of red beams.

"It's not causing any damage," Sora says.

"I know,"Jerild says worriedly.

The Haste-G soon runs out of energy returning the ship to a regular speed. The Heartless was now approaching Elwardragon quickly. Jerild continues to fire the weapon upon their enemy, hoping to cause some kind of damage on it, yet this does not occur.

"We're done for,"Donald quacks.

"You all jump to conclusions too soon for me," Wessler replies, leaning back in his chair with fine puffs of smoke rising from the burning end of his cigar.

The mechanic whirls his finger again and presses a button right off to the far side of the panel. From the bottom of the ship, a missile appears, still attached to restraints. It is directed toward the back and comes online, lights appearing around it and the engine on its back beginning to light up. The crosshairs for it appear on screen and zone in on the Heartless again.

"What is this," Jerild asks.

"Another new contribution to this ship. Fire it and see what happens."

Jerild nods and presses down onto the fire button, releasing the missile. The projectile swirls around as it hones toward Darkside. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Vex lean forward, waiting to see the power of this great weapon. The missile hits the Darkside's stomach area, but smog erupts instead of an explosion. The Heartless still chases them.

After a moment of shock, Sora asks:"Uh…did it work?"

Donald crosses his arms and looks agrily at Wessler. But the mechanic keeps on smoking and leaning back in his chair.

Jerild looks over at Wessler and says:"Wessler…was that a dud?"

"Hey, look," Goofy says. "It's slowing down."

Darkside begins to lose speed and falls back. They look on in puzzlement. Soon, they are out of Elward City, the pursuing Heartless far behind now.

"What was that missile, Wessler?" Jerild asks.

"Like I said, you all jump too much into conclusions. That missile was called a Slow-G. Whatever object is hit by it, will have its current speed halved temporarily. Long enough for us to make our escape, though."

"Sorry for doubting you," Jerild replies.

"Next time, Jerild, try to give me more trust."

Vex stares sadly at the middle screen as Elward Town vanishes from view. He lets out a small sigh, until Goofy lays his hand on Vex's shoulder and says to him:"It'll be alright. We'll find a way to get back your home."

"That's right," Sora adds. "We're going to do all we can to get rid of the Heartless once and for all. And we believe the keyblades may be the answer to our problem."

"The keyblades," Vex repeats.

The Elwardragon flies off into the horizon as the sun begins to rise in the east, a new journey, brewing over the streams of orange and yellow in the sky, awaits the heroes as they venture toward their next destination.


	4. Gummi Ship Central

Chapter 4: Gummi Ship Central 

The Eldwardragon flies hastily toward its next destination, the engines of the Fira-G's rumbling with great power under the wings, and the main Firaga-G engine sounding like a charging bull. Under them the spans of hills and trees cross past the screens. Sora, Donald, and Goofy sigh heavily, lucky enough to be able to not have to walk that distance for the time being. Sora unfastens his seatbelt, as it is now safe to walk around, and walks between Jerild and Wessler.

"Where are we heading?" Sora asks.

"Gummi Ship Central," Jerild replies.

Wessler leans back in his seat moaning. Sora turns to him, wondering what is the problem.

"Don't worry about Wessler. He's just not too fond of the place."

The mechanic turns his head away and crosses his arms.

Jerild turns completely toward Sora and continues his explanation:"Many weeks ago, during a great meteor shower, a great number of those gummi blocks fell from the sky. Most of them coincidencely fell right onto the Global Vehicle Association, the largest garage on the planet, and they opened the first and only gummi ship garage. With this, they were able to distribute gummi ships to people all over the planet."

"What did you all use before gummi ships became available?"

"Cars, of course."

Sora stares at Jerild confusedly. "Cars?"

Jerild moves his shades a little. "I forgot, you all came from an island. Such vehicles were not required for you, huh? Well, simply they are small transports that travel by land, not by air like gummi ships. The number of people it can carry depends on the very size of the car, and it is this factor that can control the speed a car. Anyway, only one person controls the car since there is really one function to be done: to drive. No weapons, no shield, just a simple land transport. The civilians were evacuated by bigger cars called vans, a transport that can carry up to twelve people, including the driver. We have five of them. Unlike gummi ships, however, cars do not have unlimited power. They run on fuel called gas and when there is no more gas in the car, the vehicle ceases to function. Understand?"

Sora nods and smiles.

"Gas is not really an abundant resource around here, so we decided not to use vehicles in Elward Town. Besides, walking was a good exercise for us, anyway. We're heading to Gummi Ship Central since the van transports will most likely go there to refuel. After, we head for Raseia City."

Sora returns to his seat. Donald leans over and whispers to him:"Sora, are you sure about this? We are on a mission, after all."

Sora whispers back:"Listen, Donald, we need to at least find out more about this world before we can continue our task."

Goofy enters the conversation:"Do you guys think that there may be a keyhole somewhere in this world? The Heartless wouldn't be appering unless one was here, right?"

"I don't think so," Sora answers. "Remember at the End of the World?"

Donald shivers and replies:"Don't remind me."

"Remember when we arrived at those strange vortexes that took us to the worlds we had visited WITHOUT use of a keyhole? They could be using those."

"But when we defeated Ansem, didn't that realm disappear?" Goofy asks.

"It must have had. When the destruction of the worlds was stopped, all of them returned to normal. The End of the World was only formed as a result of the chaos," Sora answers. "So if it is a keyhole here, all we have to do is seal it up."

Donald quacks:"And how will we do that? We do not know where it is and we have no idea how large this world is."

Sora frowns at Donald until Jerild grabs their attention by informing them of their arrival.

Right in front of them is the giant building of Gummi Ship Central. Various gummi ships of various colors fly over and into the garages as they descend to the lots below. Many men, probably mechanics, bring in and out ships from the garage and hands them over to their owners. Not far from them are the vans that were used to transport the civilans with a few of the guards from the city standing around them. The Elwardragon makes its landing and the engines are shut off.

"We have arrived at Gummi Ship Central. It is now safe to exit the ship," Jerild says into the intercom."

The guards that are in the back room unbuckle their seatbelts and leave out into the lot where their fellow comrades who evacuated the civilians greet them. Everyone, except of Wessler, gets to their feet and exits into the backroom and out the ship.

Jerild turns to Wessler before he leaves and says to him:"Are you sure you're not coming?"

"Stop it, Jerild! You know darn well that I'm not leaving this ship. Just hurry back so we can get going." Wessler lights himself another cigar, leans back in his seat some more, and seems to doze off as he quietly puffs away on his stimulant.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Vex jump out the ship and gaze up at the building of Gummi Ship Central. A gummi ship figurine sits above the company's name, that is in big red and yellow letters. Double doors sit just below where customers go in to set their orders. To the right of these doors are five big openings that show the inside of the garage itself, which is filled with gummi ships getting customized by mechanics.

Jerild walks over to the crew and says to them:"The civilans are safe and sound in the building. After we get the vans re-fueled, we're heading to Raseia City."

As the mayor enters through the double doors, Vex turns to the three and says:"I'll be right back. I'm going with my dad."

Vex turns and follows after his father into the building, too. The three heroes just turn to each other and shrug.

"Hey!"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy turn to see Wessler hanging out the doorway. He shouts to them:"Come here. I have something for you three."

They return to the Elwardragon and follow Wessler back into the cockpit. The mechanic falls into his seat and turns to them, his cigar still in his mouth. He stares at the three for a minute and begins to laugh. They respond by turning slightly to each other.

Wessler leans forward and says to them still with a laugh in his voice:"Ha, I can't believe you're the three that that Mickey fellow spoke of. He told me that three brave heroes would arrive shortly after his leave and that I should I give you this." Wessler pulls out the same envelope that Pluto, the king's dog, was holding. "I still can't believe he spoke of a kid and his two lackeys!"

"Hey!" Donald quacked.

"I'm sorry. It just so hard to believe that you three are heroes. But I shouldn't jump to conclusions, either. You did get through those creatures, after all. Here. This is for you."

Wessler hands the envelope with the king's seal on it to Sora, who holds it up for the three to see. The mechanic turns back around and relaxes back into his chair again. They stand there staring at the envelope in wonder. They exit the cockpit into the back room.

"What do you think Mickey wrote?" Goofy asks.

"I don't know," Sora says still mesmerized by this item in his grasp.

"Oh, just open it," Donald says impatiently.

Sora turns the envelope vertically and tears the top off…


	5. Mickey's Letter

Chapter 5: Mickey's Letter 

Sora, Donald, and Goofy stand there, awaiting the opening of the one thing that can explain what is going on around here, why they are here, and why there is another keyblade in existence. The keyblade master breathes heavily before finally unfolding the paper that contains the words of King Mickey.

_Dear Goofy, Donald, and Sora,_

_Let me first congratulate you three on your successful victory over Ansem. Because of this, you have closed the link between worlds and restored all the ones that were decimated by the Heartless. You three have truly proven your valiance and deserve a good rest from all this excitement, but I'm afraid resting is not the best option at the moment. As you know, the Heartless are still here and are starting to become more aggressive…and more powerful. With that, we are not nearly done with our task of ridding the worlds of the Heartless. _

There is something you must know about concerning the former ruler of Hollow Bastion. His research of the Heartless was initated by one strange meeting, as he told me during our talk in his study. Ansem was seating in his library one evening, reading a book quietly, when all of a sudden, a great light appeared before him. When it faded away, a cloaked man was standing in its wake. The stranger remained quiet while Ansem asked continously who he was. When he finally responded, he placed his hand forward and spawned a glowing item within its grip. The item was a keyblade. Ansem was confused at first, but the man told Ansem to take the item and protect it until the day when "the door" is opened. Once Ansem took hold of the keyblade, the stranger disappeared, leaving the words "The Wicked Key."

Riku soon inherited the weapon when Ansem possessed him. We have no idea what has happened to it now, but we feel that it will play an important part once we reach "the door." Riku and I are going to explore some of the world to see if we can find some answers to our problems. For us to be brought here must mean this place has some significance to our quest. When you all finish reading this letter, start searching around, as well. I recommend you use the help of Jerild and his friends in getting started. Also, search for a keyhole that may be present in the world, as the Heartless must be appearing in cause of it. Be careful, however. These Heartless are more stronger and aggressive than before, and as you all have found out, your magic doesn't work well on them. Your keychains, summons, and equipment have also disappeared, as the case with us, so your advantage against the beings has lowered greatly.

I wish you three well in your exploration. We will meet again when the time is right.

Sincerely,

Mickey and Riku

The three look up from the letter and look among each other as they absorb the words of the wise king.

"Well," starts Goofy. " I guess we should do what King Mickey suggests us to do. Search for that keyhole."

"But where do we start," Sora asks.

"We do what the king said," Donald says impatiently as he walks toward the cockpit. "We will stay with these people until it is time for us to depart."

"I'm okay with that," Sora replies with a smile.

Sora pockets the letter and follows Donald and Goofy back into the cockpit, where Wessler is found snoozing silently in his chair with his cigar burnt out in the ashtry to his side. Minutes later, Jerild and Vex enter into the cockpit, signaling that it is time to go. Wessler awakes, disappointed that he had escape such a nice nap, but is soon re-energized as he lights yet another cigar.

"We're ready to go," Jerild says to them. "The vans have a full tank of gas and have set off to the next town. We're heading out to Raseia City."

"About time," Wessler replies, with an air of relief of leaving such a place.

They all strap themselves in their seats, including the guards in the backroom. The engines are turned on and the Elwardragon is hovered into the air before a great boost of speed sends the ship flying toward its next destination.


	6. A New Journey Begins

**Chapter 6: A New Journey Begins**

Elwardragon proceeds toward Raseia City with great haste, thanks to the recharging of the Haste-G. They can already see the metropolitian rising from over the horizon, as they grew closer. It made the group's eyes glitter with wonder of what they were going to encounter in this city that they hear is so great. Vex's smile confirmed their excitement.

"We're almost there," Jerild announces over the intercom all across the ship.

"Finally," Donald responds with a sigh.

More gummi ships can be seen flying over and through the city. It was only a while before the Elwardragon joined the traffic. Skyscrapers pass by as they speed pass other vehicles and through other structures that seemed to hover over the city like gods. They soon enter into an area where the city leaders dwell. In front of them is Raseia Hall.

"Your place doesn't match up with this, Jerild," Wessler jokes to the mayor.

"Yeah, and your gummi ship doesn't look like it could match the glamor of this city's ships," Jerild jokes back. But Wessler loses his smile. "Lighten up, Wessler. I'm kidding."

The ships soon enters the parking garage of gummi ships, and men in blue suits can be seen motioning them to lower to their designated parking space. Elwardragon halts above them and the hovers are turned on, descending the ship down slowly. Once they set down, the engines are turned off.

"Alright, crew," Jerild annouces. "We have safely landed in Raseia City. You can now leave the ship."

Seat belts are unbuckled as everyone begins to depart from the ship. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Vex jump out after the guards and are met by a grand site of skyscrapers and flying gummi ships, but they were bigger since they were no longer in flight. Jerild and Wessler exit moments after. The mayor walks over to some men who looked like law enforcers since they had badges and weapons. After conversating, Jerild returns to the crew.

"I'm going to go speak to Mayor Sapphire about the situation with these heartless. We have to find some way to keep them from spreading all over the land…and possibly the world."

Sora replies:" But Mr. Jerild, you know…"

"I understand that you have the power to stop them, but we can't take any risks. Wessler is going to take you four to a hotel until I return."

Sora did not answer, nor Donald or Goofy.

"Alright, Dad," Vex replies with a wave and smile.

Jerild smiles back and leaves down some stairs with the law enforcers. Wessler walks over to the four, still puffing on his cigar.

"Ok, little fellas," Wessler says. "Let's get going."

They take the same stairs down and come to a street filled with pedestrians going one way or another. A few vehicles can be seen going through the streets and some were man-powered, like bicycles. Sora was astouded by all this, having never witnessed such events before. Goofy and Donald had no words for their amazement, either. They proceed through the crowds of people. Several stares are given to Donald and Goofy since they are visually different. It doesn't disturb Goofy one bit, but Donald becomes annoyed by everyone's curiosity. They finally reach a building with the name "Raseia's Most Precious" above its glass double doors. It is the hotel for which they are to reside in.

"Well, this is our home until we can find out what to do next," Wessler replies.

"Um, Mr. Wessler," Vex says to the mechanic.

"What is it?"

"If it's okay with you, me and the others will like to take a walk around. I want to show them the many sights of Raseia."

Wessler puffs his cigar silently for a minute. But he answers: "Alright. I trust you'll return back here safely. You know what your father will do to me if something happens to you."

Vex smiles. "Ok, let's go."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy follow after Vex.

The four come upon a more peaceful part of the city where a fountain rests. They take a seat on one of the benches that face the water structure. Here, they stare in relaxation at the water works going on before them. After a moment of silence, Vex breaks the harmony.

"What are you all going to do about those Heartless things?"

Sora keeps his stare at the fountain. "Well, our first priority is to stop them from spawning. That means, we need to find a keyhole."

Donald jumps in:" But that means it can be anywhere on this world. Do you know how big this world is?"

Goofy replies:"We usually didn't have this problem. The Heartless usually led us to the keyholes."

"Yeah," Sora responds. "They were like a path to the keyholes. That is why we didn't have much trouble before."

"Unlike that time in Transverse Town," Donald says. " It took several trips before we realized that a keyhole was there."

"Wow," Vex says to them. "You guys have been everywhere, haven't you?"

"Not really." Sora stares into the blue sky. "There are still many more worlds to explore. A lot more. But I'm going to see them all. That's right. I'm going to be the first person ever to explore every world that is out there."

Vex looks down at his feet. "I wish I could. All my life, I've lived in Elward Town. The only place I've ever been outside my home is Raseia City. That is why Wessler allowed us to go off on our own. I know this place inside and out." Vex looks back up. "That shows how much I want to go on an exploration to all that is out there."

Goofy places his finger on the side of his face before replying:" Then why not come with us?"

"What," Vex responds.

"No way," Donald replies. "No way! No way! No way! This is serious business, Goofy! We can't take someone outside their world. It's against the rules."

"Besides," Sora says. "Your father wouldn't allow it. It's just too dangerous…"

"But what about in Elward Town when we took on the Heartless," Vex quickly says. "Remember how I took out that giant heartless with my keyblade? I could be a big help to you!"

"But, Vex, this is not an adventure you take through a forest. Those things were a problem before, but now that they've returned even stronger, our journey has become very dangerous. Too critical to let you join us."

Vex looks away. "I understand."

The boy stands up.

"We should return to the hotel before Wessler worries," Vex says as he walks back toward Raseia's Most Precious. The three soon follow.

Within a room where red carpet flourished and a chandelier hanged from the ceiling, a high stand with three people was present. In the center of them is a woman with long blue hair and a blue suit on. Her eyes are also blue and so as the jewel on her pendant. No wonder this mayor was named Sapphire. Standing before them was Jerild and his guard captain.

"Welcome, Mr. Jerild," Sapphire begins." Welcome, once again, to my humble city."

"It's a pleasure to be here, too, Ms. Sapphire," Jerild replies.

"Now, you seem to have an urgent business that you will like to discuss with me. Is that true?"

"As true as your blue eyes. Yesterday evening, my town was attacked."

"Again," Sapphire asks.

"Yes, but this time, they've suceeded in driving me and my people out."

"So, these shadow beings are more than they appear to be?"

"More than you've ever dreamed of. I have reason to believe that they may reach your city soon."

"So it is that serious?"

Jerild nods.

"Well," Sapphire says. "If that is so, then we have no choice but to raise our level of security."

"Sapphire, don't take this situation lightly. These beings are more powerful than you think. Your security won't probably help you take them out."

"Maybe because you do not know the power that my enforcements have, Mr. Jerild."

"Yeah…maybe."

"Listen. You are allowed to stay here as long as you wish until we can get this situation resolved, but do know that I am in charge here, Mr. Jerild."

"I understand, Sapphire."

"That's Ms. Sapphire."

"Right. If you may, I have another proposition for you."

"Proceed."

"I have three people who arrived at my town yesterday who were able to destroy many of these creatures. They were able to accomplish such a feat under the power of the keyblade."

"A keyblade?"

"Yes, Sapph…I mean Ms. Sapphire. A keyblade. They have seen these monsters before and destroyed countless numbers of them."

"So what of them?"

"They know a way that may take care of our unwanted visitors, so I will like to give them the necessary supplies and equipment to go out and achieve their task."

"You know wasting resources is not a habit of mines, Mr. Jerild…however, for the sake of your town and our city, I will accept your proposition."

Jerild bows. "Thank you."

Sora stares out the window from his 33rd floor room in Raseia's Most Precious thinking about his past adventures. All the friends he made on the way, the many battles that he faced, and the unique worlds he visited all enlightened Sora's wonderment of what lied ahead.

"Sora," a familiar voice called from behind.

The keyblade master turns to see Jerild with a smile on his face. Donald and Goofy could see that good news was upon them. But Vex did not take notice. He was just staring out the window like Sora was.

"I have convinced the city's mayor to supply you and your buddies with a gummi ship and some other neccessities in order to journey out to find a way to save our world."

Sora replies with an excited tone:"Alright!"

Donald and Goofy jump up, giving a high five.

"Thanks, Mr. Jerild," Sora says.

"I should be thanking you. If it weren't for you three, we wouldn't have made it out of Elward alive."

Vex turns around a little as he hears that his new friends are going to be leaving. Sora walks over to Donald and Goofy and places his hand out. They follow by placing their hands over his.

Sora says:" Let's do this."

"All for one…" Goofy starts.

"And one for all," Vex says suddenly.

They turn around to Vex who ws staring their way. He walks slowly over to them and places his hand over theirs. They are confused, but not as confused as his father.

"Listen, guys. I know how much you care for me and I know that your journey is going to be dangerous. But if I do not go, then it will just make your trip even more dangerous."

Sora is speechless.

Vex turns to his father and replies:"Dad, I need to go with them. It is the only way that they'll accomplish this quest of theirs." He turns back to them. "Let me go with you three."

No one spoke word. Wessler leans back in his comft chair as he smoked before replying:"Let the kid go, Jerild. Same for you, Sora. It's obvious that he isn't afraid what lies ahead. He's just like you when you were little, Jerild. Didn't you disobey your parents to go off with me and the others on that little quest of ours when we were kids?"

Jerild crosses his arms and looks down.

Wessler continues:"And you three…I think he would be a great asset to your journey. He does have that weapon, ya know."

"How do you…" Sora starts. Wessler had never been in view to see Vex's keyblade.

"I have cameras outside my shop. But don't worry about that. What do you all say?"

Everybody starts to consider Wessler's words and Vex stands there with great anticipation. After a minute of silence, Sora speaks.

"Alright. You can come, Vex."

Vex smiles and then looks to his father for a response. Jerild is not looking at Vex at all as he stared away. But he finally replies:" Go for it, Vex. You proved yourself back home. I think you can handle a little more action."

Jerild gives his son a smile.

"Thanks, Dad."

Vex turns back to the three.

"All for one.." Donald begins.

"And one for all," they all reply in unison.

Back at the gummi ship garage, a new ship stood next to the Elwardragon. It was much smaller, but it looked like it could pack a punch. A mechanic walks out of it that looks around the 20's and had short blue hair. He goes over to Sora and the others.

He says:" Hello. I believe you are the ones Sapphire informed me about."

"That's right," Sora replies.

"Now let me tell you about this ship. We created it based on some blueprints of a gummi ship called Sylph. Although it lacks the speed and strength of normal ships, it definitely can take a hit. This is by far one of the best defensive ships we have. To make up for its downfalls, I have equipped a Firaga-G, given you Aerora wings for better manuevaribility, and a good array of weapons. Two Thunder-G's and a Comet-G. This should allow you to combat many strong adversaries. And for other equipment, you have your typical Scan-G for radar and Shield-G for even more defense. Any questions?"

Such a vehicle that was now in their possession astounded Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They were nothing but grateful for all the friends they had here in this new world. Vex walks up to the ship to take a better look.

Vex responds:"What should we name it?"

The three walks next to Vex. Sora replies:"Kingdom."

Goofy and Donald look over to Sora with a smile. It was good to have this ship named after their original.

"Kingdom it is," Vex replies as he jumps into the ship.

Jerild gives them a wave as they enter into the vehicle. From the cockpit, Vex waves back.

He says to himself:"I will return, Dad. I promise."

The door closes and the engines are turned on. Donald sits in the driver's seat while Goofy took control of the other controls. Sora and Vex sat behind them.

"Hold on," Donald says as he pushes a button.

The ship ascends into the air. Jerild gives another wave. Wessler walks to the side of him and says:"Don't worry, Jerild. He'll be back. Just have faith."

Jerild says:"I'm not worried. Just proud. It's good to see Vex back in good spirits."

"Yeah," Wessler replies, but with a less satisfied tone. He had a feeling that if Vex started to become down about the death of his mother again, Sora's journey was going to become more difficult than they thought. So he hopes that Vex can cope with this inner despair before they tackle any daring situation.

Kingdom dashes off out of the city.

"Where to," Donald says.

"I don't know," Sora says.

"Well, I have an idea," Vex responds. "Why don't we go to Wintrel Forest, the forest of the Wintrel Elves?"

"What," Sora says.

"The Wintrel Elves are a magical race that know almost everything there is know about the world and its mysteries. If anyone knows the source of those Heartless, they would."

"Where is it," Donald quacks.

"Just east of Raseia City. Don't worry. We're going the right way."

"Then to Wintrel Forest," Sora exclaims.

As they fly toward their next destination, an air of doubt swarms Vex's mind. He did not mention that the Wintrel Elves had a dislike for other races, but he only hoped that the current situation would say otherwise.

CorDynasty's Comments 

Now that I have so much free time on my hands, I can now devote a couple of months of it to furthering this fanfic. As you can see, not much of a story has been developing in the first few chapters except for **Chapter 5: Mickey's Letter**, but I assure you, things are about to get interesting as like any other story. If you will like to give reviews, please do so. It would be good to know if I'm getting someone's attention. Until then, expect more chapters in a day or two.


	7. The Wintrel Elves

Chapter 7: The Wintrel Elves 

"Wintrel Elves are very different from normal human beings. The first distinction is their physical appearance. They are generally slim. There is no sight in history of one weighing over 130 lbs. Their ears are pointy and long, giving them the ability to hear small and far sounds. And their eyes show a lot more emotion than humans' eyes. Their inert intelligence makes them a very clever and exalted race. They learn what is all there is to know, and know what is all there is to learn. Their life span is incredible. While a human is an average 80 years old, elves can live to be 1500. Some have lived to the age of 3000. But their natural magic is what sets them apart from humans entirely. They have created so many mystic items and spells that they are virtually capable of taking over the entire world without even trying.

"But they are not that type of people. Wintrel elves are peaceful and caring. They would not harm any living creature without reason, but if threatened, they can become fierce competitors. However, no one can threaten them as they live in remote areas all around the world where they shut themselves off from the rest of the world. They do not wish to have any relationships with any outsiders. Why? Some say that the history between Wintrel elves and humans is not a pleasant one. But whatever it is, it is one of the many secrets that their race withhold from the world."

Vex finishes his description of the Wintrel elves with Sora, Donald, and Goofy wowing over the race's outstanding features.

But Sora becomes less euthusiatic. "If they do not welcome outsiders, then how are we going to ask for their help?"

Vex replies:"Well, the Wintrel elves in Wintrel Forest are different. Different because their leader is more understanding. Years ago, their leader actually met with the mayor of Raseia City to negotiate some trade pact. So I figured that maybe they'll be friendlier than most of their race."

"Sounds reasonable."

Donald interrupts:"Let's just get there already. We'll see what happens once we're there."

Sora frowns at his duck partner. The red and black gummi ship flies through the blue skies toward Wintrel Forest, which was beginning to come into view as they neared it. But what they did not expect was the size of this place as they came over a hill. The treetops created a collage of green tints and shades that showed the depths present throughout the forest. What was not present was any sign of civilization.

"They live within the deepness of the forest," Vex says. "They are very concerned about nature. They do not want to do anything to harm the natural world, which is why their living methods are somewhat primitive to ours."

They soon reach the entrance of the forest, although there was no physical entrance, and descend onto the ground. They exit the ship and face the forest for which where the elves dwelled. They stared at it for a while.

Goofy finally speaks:"Well, I suppose we should get going into that there forest."

"Yeeaah," Sora answers. "Let's go."

Vex scratches his head and says:"You first."

Donald squenches his eyes at the boy. "So, why did you come again?"

They soon summon up the courage to go in together. What they thought would be a dark interior is actually a beautiful workmanship of trees, flowery, and sunlight, although it is wrong to say it is man-made. Their doubts about the elves began to fade away as they walked deeper into the forest. How could anyone break up such a lovely scene? They soon come upon a statue of a Wintrel elf wielding a bow and arrow. His hair was long and his wear was of a warrior, with body armor and a cape. And the arrow had the wings that resembled an angel's wings. On the nameplate below it says:" Orion."

"Orion," Sora repeats. "Who is he, Vex?"

Vex responds:" I don't know. He looks important, though."

"Uh huh," Goofy replies.

Wssh!

An arrow flies past Sora's face and imbeds itself in a tree behind him. They turn around quickly to look at the projectile before looking back forward.

"Where did that come from," Sora says quickly.

His keyblade was already in his hand, ready to be used. Goofy and Donald spawn their weapons, too. Vex follows after, spawning his Moon Key into the grip of his hand, an experience that was still new, yet intriguing. But this time, his keyblade did not glow like it did back in Elward Town. Figures appear in front of them from the shadows of the forest walking slowly toward them from different directions. They were wielding a bow with an arrow ready to be fired. They wore white capes with green tunics. Although they wore different hairstyles, they shared the same hair color of white and gold. The group look behind them to find more of the attackers inching their way closer. They were surrounding them.

"Are they…" Sora starts.

"That's right," Vex answers. "Wintrel elves."

The elves stop once they create a complete circle around the four. Their arrows begin to make Goofy nervous, and Donald's knees can be seen shaking. Sora and Vex express no fear, as they are ready to strike when it is time. One of the elves finally speak.

"Who are you? State your business in our forest!"

The elf's tone made Goofy even more nervous. He soon yelps and bows into a surrender position to them.

"We give. Please, don't hurt us, Mr. Elf. We're only here to ask for your help."

Donald slaps his hand across his face in embarrassment.

"Our help," the elf repeats.

The group relaxes. Sora answers:"Yes, that's correct."

"Who are you?"

Vex responds:" We're from Raseia City. We have come for your help. There's a force threatening the world and we need to know its source."

The elves begin to talk amongst themselves before the lead elf replies:" If there was a dark force threatening our land, Madame Everstien would have already known."

"Huh? Who's Madame Everstien?"

"She is our faithful leader. She has led us into a life of prosperity inside and outside our wonderous forest. We owe our lives to her."

"Is it okay for us to see her," Sora asks.

The elves look at each other as they come to consider this.

"You may come. You four do not seem like a threat to us."

"Hey," Donald quacks being insulted by that remark.

They follow the elves through the forest. They come to a white gate anchored by two trees at the side that glowed with a mystic light. The lead elf directs his hand out forward and chants a phrase, having the entranceway open up. They walk in. The four are greeted by little buildings of marble that had elegant designs with some type of ornament at the entrance of each. One is a statue. Another is a set of pillars with rose vines swirling up them. The elves stop with one of them pointing his finger toward the largest building. It had two statues with the image of the "Orion" figure once again.

"Madame Everstien awaits your presence inside."

"Huh? How's that," Goofy asks bewildered.

"She knows you are here. She knew you were here once you stepped into this forest."

"Creepy," Vex replies.

"Please, do not do anything foolish in her presence."

"We won't," Sora responds. "Let's go, guys."

They walk up to the main building and open the double doors. Standing inside are two elves in white cloaks standing beside another set of double doors. When the four approach them, the elves open the doors into another room much larger than the previous. When they walk inside, the doors are closed behind them. But what is more important laid in front of them. A few feet away sat their leader Madame Everstien with an elf at her left. She wore a light blue cloak over a white garnet dressed down with gold lining. Her white crown sat atop her long black hair with bangs of gold going down the side of her face. She held in her right hand a staff with the head of a gold griffin and wore a ring layered by three green jewels on her left.

The four did not know what to say or do.

"Welcome," Madame Everstien says. "Welcome to our forest home."

Sora says:" Umm…thank you, Ms….Madame Everstien."

"So, I hear that you have come for my help, yes?"

"That's right," Vex answers. "It is very important."

"Then speak, my guests."

Sora steps forward. "Madame, there are creatures of darkness that have appeared called the Heartless."

"The Heartless?"

"That's right. These things are appearing in unlimited numbers and are very powerful."

"They already destroyed my home, Elward," Vex says after.

"We've been fighting them for a long time trying our best to stop them, yet they keep on appearing. We thought we ended it when we defeated the Heartless leader, but they still exist."

"So we need your help to find out the source of them in the land," Vex says.

Everstien slightly grips her chin with her left hand.

She replies:" This is an unusual event to us. These Heartless…are you sure they cannot be stopped?"

Sora responds:"We can stop them from spawning by finding the gateway they are using. It may be a keyhole, gateways they've used before, but we're not sure. Do you think you can help us?"

Madame Everstien stands to her feet and walks over to a window to her right. She places her hand upon the glass and stares out into the forest.

She finally says:" I have been sensing a strange energy coming from the deep parts of the forest known as Wintrel Wailings. It is a dark part of the forest where sounds of wailing can be heard swarming throughout the air. Usually, the sound does reach as far as our home…but lately, that has changed. We can now hear these wailings and believe me…they are not pleasant. I have sent four of some of my best men out to investigate this disturbance. However…they have not returned for three days. Whatever is within the shadows of that place is most likely not of this world. It is most likely these Heartless you speak of."

Sora nods his head. "We will go see about this, right, guys?"

The three look around replying hesitately:"Yeeaah. We will."

Everstien puts a smile upon her face.

"That would be most appreciated. I sense a good deal of courage within you four."

"Yeah, courage," Donald says worriedly.

"Will you like some of my men to accompany you?"

"That won't be neccesary," Sora replies. "I'm sure we can do this on our own."

Vex leans over to Sora. "Sora, I think you should reconsider."

Sora whispers back:"We do not need to bring anyone else into this. It will endanger their lives even more."

"I beg to differ," Madame Everstien replies.

"Oh yeah, the ears," Sora responds. "Do not worry, Ms. Everstien. We'll take care of this."

"Then, you have my best wishes. Sonmar!"

The elf that led the attack group earlier walks in, his long braid easily moving to the slightest change in direction.

"Yes, Madame," he answers.

"Escort these four to the entrance of Wintrel Wailings."

Sonmar bows and gestures for them to follow him. After some walking through the rest of their village, they pass through another white gate and return to the natural part of the forest. As they proceed further, the sun's rays begin to dim as the treetops begin to become thicker and thicker. The vegetation was becoming less pleasant and more creepy with dark colored flowery and dark barked trees. Even the barks upon the trees started to look wickier. Sonmar stops them at two pillars that had the emblems of two cat-like animals.

"This is it. After you pass through here, you will be in Wintrel Wailings."

Suddenly, the wind picks up as a long, hair-raising howl blows through the air. The wailing had the four quickly bundle together in fear. Sonmar was unaffected.

"This is bad. The wailing has become louder…and stronger. It holds a dark presence that I cannot make out. My senses tell me to run…but I cannot because I am too afraid to move. Are you sure you guys still want to go in?"

Sora arches up one eyebrow. "Wait a minute. Are you trying to scare us?"

"Yes…and no. Just wanted to see if you will reconsider. Be careful."

Sonmar turns around and walks past them back toward the village leaving them alone. They stare at the two pillars with wonder of what lied ahead. Goofy's teeth chatter start to freak Donald out, who jumps up with a yelp onto Sora's face. The keyblade master manages to pull his duck friend off and steps forward.

He responds:"We can't let a little wind scare us, right?"

Vex replies:"I think it already has done that."

"Yeah," Goofy says.

"Come on, guys," Sora responds. "We've been through worse things. We can't let this defeat us."

Sora starts in before Donald runs to his side, followed by Goofy. Vex stood behind hesitating.

"Come on, Vex. You've come too far to turn around. Let's do this."

Vex nods and runs forward as they enter through the brush into Wintrel Wailings. The wailing dies down but soon picks back up, having the group on total alert. Soon, a light is seen ahead, having them jog to it quickly. They enter out into an opening where some light was peering through the treetops. This was a good relief for them in such a dim-lighted place.

"Let's rest here," Goofy says, as he lay out on the ground.

Donald kicks him, quacking:"Get up you lazy bum!"

Vex looks around. Sora walks over to him saying:"Are you okay?"

"No. Are you?"

Sora chuckles. "I know how you feel. I remember feeling this way when all this first started."

"How did it start," Vex says facing him."

Sora lowers his head. "There was light. But then that light vanished. My home vanished. That is when it happened. And that is when I got my keyblade."

Vex replies:"Just like me. My home has been taken away from me, but I got a keyblade. See, we're not different."

"Yeah. But after we defeated the man behind our world's destruction, my world returned. But I didn't. I was brought here, instead."

Vex places his hand on Sora's shoulder. "Is that a bad thing? You met me. And you know your friends are here. So, it is meant for you to be here, right?"

"I guess," Sora answers. He couldn't stop thinking about his friend back home. Kairi.

"Sora," Donald exclaims.

Donald points behind them. They turn to see four shadowy figures moving around. They soon become visible. Their eyes glowed with that evil orange glare, but they were different from the ones they encountered in Elward. Matter of fact, they were different from what they ever met before. They were larger versions of the small Heartless. Their legs were slim, yet showed athletism along with their arms. But on their forearms were extensions that were shaped like blades. And their antennas arched and extened all the way to the ground. These Heartless meant buisness. Five more begin to spawn behind them from a portal of darkness. More and more appear to their side and soon from behind. They were beginning to surround the four with great aggression. The four spawn their weapons and get into a back-to-back formation.

"I've never seen these Heartless before," Vex says.

"Me neither," Sora responds.

"So you know nothing about them? We're doomed."

"We can take them. As long as we work together."

The Heartless suddenly screech and jump one by one at them.

"Brace yourself," Sora yells.


	8. Secret Down Under

**Chapter 8: A Secret Down Under**

"Look out," Goofy exclaims as he blocks an attack from one of the new Heartless that was charging Donald unexpectedly.

The wizard quacks angrily and causes massive thunderbolts to strike around him. Unfortunately, the Heartless only flinch but do not seem to be harmed. However, Goofy is caught in the attack and yelps as he is struck severly. He is left smothered in black smog and coughs as smoke rises from his body. Donald immediately casts cure on his unfortunate friend to make up for his mistake. Sora and Vex sway away at the highly agile enemies, getting in only a few hits on the shadow monsters. While Vex is able to slash through the Heartless with ease, Sora begins to have bad luck once again. His keyblade does not pierce through the enemies at all, having him just whack them. But clubbing them, however, does not affect them, allowing them to retaliate easily by knocking Sora to the ground.

"I got you, Sora," Vex shouts as he runs to Sora's rescue.

Three Heartless are demolished as the Moon Key strikes through them with Vex running feriously. He destroys each Heartless that gets in his way, but he isn't concentrating on the fighting. His only goal is to help Sora. The keyblade master jumps to his feet and knocks his foes back with a push kick, having three fall into a pile. Vex follows up by leaping into the air and coming down with a downward strike through each, having them disappear in one blow. Sora gives his friend a thumbs up until Vex is suddenly hit back by a charging Heartless. It begins slashing ferociously at the boy with no lost in speed. Vex attempts to block its quick attacks with his keyblade, but he begins to stumble. He soon falls back and the creature strikes for the blow until Donald suddenly blocks the attack and parries it back. The four were back-to-back again with the Heartless surrounding them as before. The group's lost of breath meant that the creatures were more difficult than they perceived.

"What now," Vex says short of breath.

Sora replies:"I don't know."

Donald's eye catches some movement on the ground at his feet. A little pebble is rumbling slightly. A few more rock pieces begin to replicate the pebble's movement. The duck becomes baffled until he feels a little rumble.

"Do you feel that," Donald says to the group.

Sora looks down as he begins to experience the same phenomenom. The rumble begins to increase in power as small gushing sound can be heard underneath them. The Heartless look around worriedly trying to figure out what is causing the earthquake.

"That sounds like…water," Vex exclaims.

At that instant, a large water sprout shoots from the ground, causing a group of Heartless to fly into the air with it. Two more burst out, getting rid of more of the creatures. Soon, a wall of water takes the place of the surrounding Heartless.

"So…what's worse," Goofy says. "A swarm of Heartless…or a giant water sprout?"

"The water sprout," the rest reply together.

But instead of engulfing them within its terrifying force, it begins to die down until it returns into the ground from whence it came. The four let out a sighing relief and drop to the ground.

"Where did that come from," Sora asks Vex.

"I don't know," Vex answers. "But it really helped us out…big time."

"Now what? Heartless are here," Donald says.

"They are beginning to expand across this world," Sora says. "We have to find the source quickly or this world will be no more."

"No more," Vex says worriedly.

"Don't worry, Vex. We're going to stop them."

They get to their feet and proceed deeper into the forest. The sounds of the wailing grew louder and scarier. Goofy could not stop shaking in fear, which was annoying Donald more by the minute. But they all shared the same shakiness as they were gripping their weapons tight. Sora raises his keyblade and looks at it with a dissatisfied expression.

He says to himself:"Why isn't my keyblade working? Is it because the Heartless are stronger?"

Sora glances at Vex's Moon Key.

"Or is my keyblade weaker? I can really use a keychain right now."

Crash! A tree is heard falling to the ground up ahead and a few screeches. They instantly assume it's a Heartless. When they run to where the sounds came from, their assumtions were right. Four of those new Heartless were facing someone who was directing a bow and arrow toward them. His face was hidden under the hood of his violet cloak. Looking around the area, a few trees were toppled over with arrows impaled within some of them. One of the Heartless dash at the stranger. The hooded man rolls to the side and quickly fires an arrow through it, having it disappear. But immediately, another Heartless strikes out at him, yet the archer is quicker as he swiftly loads a new arrow and takes out his attacker. The last two Heartless begin circling him, their blades arched out and ready to cut into their prey. But the archer ignores their little tactic as he loads another arrow. Not noticable to anyone, the archer glances left to right at the circling Heartless. He seems to calulate their exact position and in an instant, launches an arrow, loads another one, and launches it, as well. A smog of dark smoke appears and the Heartless are gone. The four are shocked at what they have just seen and run up to the stranger.

"Woah, that was amazing," Vex says to the archer.

"Hey, you must be one of Madame Everstien's men," Sora responds.

The archer looks their way and pulls off his hood. His hair is bright orange and red that is pulled into a ponytail that reached down to his upper back. He has bangs. However, they exist only on the right side of his face and cover almost his entire right eye. His eyes are a bright blue and gleam with a light that showed courage. Under his cloak, he wears a black tunic with gold lining. On his belt, he has a symbol of an angel wielding a bow and arrow. And he wears black tights with shoes of the same color on his feet. His size and young look makes him seem around the same age as them.

The elf replies with a tone that showed he isn't enthusiastic about them being here:" And you must be the ones that I had to save before you became minced by those…things."

"Save," Donald repeats.

"That is right. I caused those water sprouts. It is a mystic ability called Wintrel's Waters. Summons water from deep within the earth and can be used how ever I wish to use it. Maybe you will like to experience it firsthand?"

"That won't be necessary," Vex says.

"Who are you four, anyway? You are not elves, so I want to know how you got through Everstien's magic sensors."

Sora replies:" Whatever sensors she had, we were detected right away. But we explained our case and were given permission to come here. She said she sent some of her archers here days ago but they never came back."

"Well, unfortunately, I am not one of them," the elf says.

"So, who are you," Donald asks sort of displeased.

The elf raises his right gloved hand and answers:" My name is Teloges. I am out here to find out why those dark creatures have appeared in our forest."

"Those are called the Heartless," Sora answers. "They spawn from an unknown source, but feed on people's hearts. They even feed on the hearts of entire worlds. In other words, if we do not stop them, they will destroy yours."

"Hmph, like I'll let that happen." Teloges turns and begins to walk away, but he continues to talk. " We have kept this forest protected long enough to not have some Heartless destroy it. Our ancestors have fought many like them and defeated them with ease. These monsters are no different."

"Yes, they are," Sora protests. "You shouldn't underestimate them."

Teloges stops and turns around replying:" Listen, my only task right now is to clear the forest of these things. If you wish to help, you may accompany me. If not, stay out of my way."

The elf turns and walks into the forest. Sora frowns and turns to the group.

"Well, he sure was nice," Donald says with the same frown.

"Should we follow him," Goofy asks.

"He knows this forest better than we do," Sora answers. "Let's keep with him."

"Smart," Vex says.

The four quickly catch up with the elf, but keeps their distance a little behind to not anger the elf anymore than he already is. The elf takes a glance at them from the corner of his eye. He smirks and suddenly runs.

"Hey!" Sora says as Teloges runs through the forest.

They run after him, but they begin to lose sight of the elf.

"Why is he running," Vex says.

"I don't know," Sora says. "But he's not getting away that easily."

Leaves and foliage brush their faces within the narrow passageway. They finally exit the enclosed path and come to a cave opening. Teloges is standing in front of it.

"Why did you do that," Sora asks the elf.

The wailing starts up again, but it shoots out the cave in a great burst of sound, having the group stagger back a bit. They now knew the source of the dreaded melody. But the direction of Teloges meant that they were about to experience it even more.

"Those Heartless have most likely taken refuge within Wailing Caves. If we wish to stop them, we must enter. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

The four look at each other, but hesitately answer:"No problem at all."

"Good," Teloges replies back. "Let's go. We have no time to waste."

The elf walks forward and disappears into the dark shadows of the open-mouthed cave. Sora follows after. The other three look at each other, waiting for one of them to go next.

But Donald pushes Vex and Goofy to the side, saying:" You are just a bunch of babies."

He disappears into the cave, as well. Goofy puts on a worried smile, but enters after his wizard friend. Vex sighs and jogs after them. Once they leave the area, a group of the agile Heartless appear from out of the bushes. Flying the sky is a black bird circling down toward them. But it spreads it wings and lowers down to the center of the Heartless with the slow flapping of them. It lands but it is soon seen that it was a Heartless as well. Its bright orange eyes peer into the cave with a thirst for destruction. Most likely, this meant for the destruction of the wandering group of adventurers. The bird lets out a loud shriek, having the arm-bladed Heartless dash into the cave. The bird follows after with one flap of its powerful wings.

Within the cave, the five walk carefully forward through the dark and gloomy earth. Light was diminshing as they proceeded further in. However, Teloges solves their light problem by chanting a few words and causing the whole cave to light up with the luminating of the torches lined along the rocky walls. They could only wow at this technique. Teloges rolls his eyes before continuing forward.

"How far does this cave go," Donald asks.

"I really don't know," Teloges answers. "I've only gotten this far."

He stops at a big clearing that has a hole in the ceiling where light from the sun was able to illuminate that part of the caverns. The elf walks over to a rock implanted in the ground and sits on it. He blows out a light breath and looks up to the lighted hole above them. Sora walks over to him.

"Can I ask you something," Sora says. "Can you tell us who is Orion? We saw a statue of him when we first came into Wintrel Forest."

Teloges looks at Sora for a moment before pulling out an arrow. He stares at it and replies:" Orion was the greatest protector of our race. Participanting in every decisive battle, he helped us obtain many victories. But 100 years ago, he disappeared in the Great War of the Elves, a battle between our race and a mysterious species that said they come from outer space. They called themselves Ailoids. But we were able to drive them out off our world. We soon put a statue up in Orion's honor. It can be found possibly in every elf village in the world."

"Wow," Vex says.

"Yeah, you can say that. Let's get going."

He gets to his feet and looks toward the way they came from. He puts on a serious expression and walks to the entrance of the clearing. They watch on as he begins to place his arrow on his bow and directs it toward the path.

"What is it," Sora asks.

"Something's coming," the elf answers, pulling back his projectile and half closing his eyes.

They spawn their weapons, too, and prepare for the anticipated assault. Shadows can be seen along the walls, meaning something was coming from around the corner of the path.

"Is it Heartless," Goofy asks.

"Yeah, it is," Teloges answers.

At that moment, the Heartless appear from around the bend and dash right at the five, but Teloges begins his attack by launching his arrow, and continusly reloading to follow up his attacks. The front line is wiped out fast, but some begin to get closer despite the elf's quick shooting. Yet, he continues to fire his projectiles to lessen the threat of the shadow monsters. Once they get close enough, the elf lets out his hand and says the same chant used to light the torches. The flames of the torches surrounding the approaching Heartless begin to dance wildly. They soon grow larger and float from their resting places on top of the candles to the path before the monsters. They linger together and create a firewall, blocking off their path. But the Heartless still advance ferociously. They run at the fire, but disappear upon contact. They continue to run into it, hoping to break down the barrier, but it only ends with more loses of them. They soon stop upon realization that crossing it was impossible. Donald's mouth is left in awe seeing the magic skills of the elf overexceeding his. They couldn't believe such a being was that powerful. But again, they haven't explored every world, yet, to confirm this.

Teloges turns around to them and walks over, saying:"That should keep them for a while. We should continue forward."

A loud shriek is heard coming from behind the bounded Heartless. They turn to find a large bird-shaped Heartless sitting behind the wall of fire. Its eyes were brewing with a fury stronger than what normal Heartless showed. It was as though it knew its cause and had a reason for its actions. This Heartless has Sora stumble back a bit. The keyblade master didn't know why, but it felt like the creature was peering into his very soul, itching to take his heart. He shakes his head and gets into a ready stance, awaiting the bird's next move.

"It won't be able to get past the wall," Teloges says.

With one loud shriek from its shadowy beak, the wall of fire suddenly diminishes under the bird's power. The Heartless were now able to continue their attack on the five. Teloges loads an arrow and fires it toward the bird, but one of the Heartless jump up to take the attack for it.

"What," Teloges exclaims.

The bird lets out another shriek and the Heartless scatter out, still advancing toward them.

"What are they doing," Vex says.

"Divide and conquer," the elf says, loding yet another arrow. "They're trying to attack us from all sides."

He starts taking out the Heartless, but they begin to gain speed and start to confuse him.

"Focus," the elf says to himself.

Their quick manuevers start to have the elf jumble over his attacks. It was becoming more difficult to keep up with them.

"Come on," Vex shouts at them from the path in front of them.

They pull back and start running deeper into the cave.

"Running," Teloges says. "I didn't have that in mind."

"Well," Vex replies. "It's better to fight in a narrow passage than a whole open area, right?"

The elf smiles and turns around. He loads three arrows all at once and launches them at the Heartless in pursuit. Because of the limited amount of space to move around in, it was now easier to hit the creatures. The elf takes down each of the creatures one by one until no more was chasing them. A smile comes across the archer's face until suddenly that loud shriek is heard again.

"That Heartless," Teloges responds.

The five run even deeper and deeper into the cave, hoping to lose the creature. Where they were going was not on their minds. For now, they needed to get to safety. Their path becomes steep, having them lower their pace to avoid tripping down the little slope. After arriving at the bottom, they stumble into an open room, however, it is pitch black, allowing them to not see before them.

"Hey, who turned out the lights," Goofy says.

"Don't worry," Teloges says.

His says his chant once again, but nothing happens. He repeats it, but still nothing responds to his magic.

"Looks like there isn't anything to use for lighting."

Suddenly, the wailing starts up again, but this time, it is so strong that it causes them to fall back on the ground.

"What the…" Vex says.

A light appears. Standing up was Teloges with a loaded arrow, however, fire was flaring from the tip of it.

"Fiery Eagle," the elf yells.

The fire flares even wilder and grows. It emits enough light to reveal the entire room, but they are shocked at what they see in front of them. Standing at about 20 feet with wings like a falcon, is a giant winged beast with its head hidden behind its feathery arms. But from the look of it, it looked as though it was sound asleep.

"Huh," Donald and Goofy reply.

"You're telling me that all this wailing is caused by this beast snoring," Vex says.

Teloges lowers his bow and walks slowly forward. The red beast's wings have strange black markings on it that seem to dazzle the elf. He looks closely at them before putting on a more surprised expression.

"I know what this is," he says. "This is the Wintrel Griffin!"

"What," Donald says. " A griffin?"

"Yes. This legendary beast is…was Orion's pet. Now that he's not here, I guess it slept here to await the return of its master."

"100 years," Sora says.

Teloges nods. "If Orion was here, I know he'll be proud of it."

The shriek is heard again as the bird Heartless suddenly appears at the entrance of the room. They turn quickly and get into ready stance.

"It's back," Vex say.

"No more running," Teloges says. "This time, it's my turn."

He pulls back his arrow, until a groan is heard behind them. They turn to see the griffin no longer sleeping peacefully. It is now sitting up with its wings arched back. Its head is shaped like an eagle, yet its legs are of a lion. It was a mystical creature that Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Vex had never seen before. The griffin let out a long shriek that is much louder than the Heartless's shouting, and causes the guys to cover their ears. The bird Heartless lets out a shriek, but the griffin shrieks after to show that it is dominant in its cry. Out of anger, the Heartless flies up and dashes at the creature. The griffin does the same, but seems to be quicker. The five move out the way as they collide.

With a headbutt, the griffin sends the Heartless into the cave wall. It shakes it off and flies at its powerful foe, despite the disadvantage it was at. It sawys past the griffin to get it off guard, yet the creature was not going to be attacked that easily. With a flap of its huge wings, it creates a large whirlwind that spins the shadow around and into another wall. Unfortunately, the griffin's attack blows out Teloges's fire arrow, leaving them in the dark again. They can still hear them fighting, but fear that not seeing them can leave to an unexpected attack against them. Teloges chants again to re-light his arrow. With the room lit again they see the griffin the last standing as the bird Heartless is no longer in sight. They begin to cheer, but the elf does not. He looks on with a worried expression on his face.

"What is it," Vex asks.

"Look!"

Dark purple smog begins to encircle the griffin wildly. It hawks and tries to sway away the smoke, but it is soon engulfed within the cloudy substance. Teloges shouts in disbelief and runs forward with his bow drawn. The smog disappears and leaves a shocking discovery. The griffin is now entirely black, and on its head there is a bright purple heart emblem with spike-like edges.

"Unbelievable," Sora says. "How…"

"It's a Heartless now," Vex exclaims.

"No," Teloges responds. "Get out of my brother's pet!"

He directs his flaming arrow at the creature and shouts:" Fiery Eagle!"

The arrow is let loose and starts it path at the Heartless. As it flies through the air, the fire around it begins to form into the figure of an eagle. The creature cries out with a shriek like none other. It echoed throughout the room with an intensity that could destroy the whole cave. The fire blows out on the arrow and the projectile is stopped in mid-air.

"Can't see," Sora says.

Teloges yelps in the dark causing the four to feel around for the archer.

"Teloges," Sora shouts.

"Ugh, let me go," the elf yells.

"We'll help you! Hold on!"

"How are we going to fight what we can't see," Vex replies.

"Use…the spell," Teloges says, struggling to say those words. "Blaze Keiro!"

Sora nods, although no one could see it and says the words. Instantly, his keyblade is engulfed in the fires of the spell, having the area become illuminated again. They are able to see Teloges trapped within the creature's talon as it hovers in the air. Sora looks at his keyblade in amazement.

"Let me go," the elf shouts.

"Here we come, Teloges," the keyblade master shouts. The four dash at the Heartless, with Sora gripping his flaming keyblade in hopes that this time his weapon will do some good.


	9. A Hero's Arrow

**Chapter 9: The Arrow of a Hero**

Sora charges the new Heartless with his fire-enhanced keyblade in the grip of his hand, renewing his confidence with his weapon once again. Vex, Goofy, and Donald follow behind him, enlightened by the keyblade master's courage. The creature lets out its ear-piercing shriek in an attempt to stop them in their tracks, yet Sora does not budge as he lunges at the beast with his keyblade. Aiming at the creature's talon, Sora swipes at it, having it release Telogas from its grasp. The elf quickly rolls away, but turns toward the beast and loads an arrow. He's about to launch it until he begins to hesitate.

"What are you waiting for," Vex asks Telogas.

The elf's hands start to shake and his focus begins to loosen up. He then lowers his bow and says: "I can't do it."

Sora spins his keyblade in his hand and jumps up at the creature again for another attack, but with one flap of its wings, the possessed griffin launches higher into the air, having the keyblade master miss his target. As he lands back on the ground, the Heartless shrieks and flies through the entrance of the room, its large size having it force itself through the small opening. The force from its charge causes the room to rumble and rock fall from the ceiling. The five quickly escape the collapsing area before it ends up in ruin. The Heartless's shriek can be heard down the corridor as it grew further from them.

"We can't let it get out," Telogas exclaims.

The elf runs ahead of them before they run after to catch up. They ascend the slope that led down to the previous room and make their way through the narrow pathway. They soon end up back at the large room with the opening in the ceiling. But the opening is larger and its edging is crumbled instead of perfectly curved as the last time they viewed it. Telogas growls a little before sprinting forward toward the exit.

"What is with this guy," Vex says.

Sora replies:" Just keep moving. We can't let that Heartless reach the village!"

At the entrance to Wailing Caverns, Telogas runs out and looks around, but seeing nothing he continues forward. The other four soon exit the caves and call out to the archer to slow down. Yet, he does not listen as he desperately tries to look for the griffin. They can only follow after him. It takes a minute of non-stop running before they lose sight of Telogas at a big clearing in the forest.

"He's fast," Goofy says short of breath.

"Where is it," Sora says.

They look around in the sky, but no Heartless are there. However, their expectations are not fully let down. In front of them, dark mist begin to appear, which meant only one thing: Heartless. Fading into view from among the smog was the same kind of Heartless that they met every since they arrived in the forest. The blade-wielding monsters jump forward and position themselves in a straight line in front of the group. Behind them, more begin to spawn, but Sora was smarter this time. He gives them no time to make a formation as he jumps forward and activates his new magic spell Blaze Keiro. Instantly, his keyblade becomes ignited as he jumps down at one of the creatures and causes it to vanish upon contact.

"Ha ha," the boy shouts.

Vex joins in by taking out the heartless to the side with Goofy and Donald joining after. This time, they were more organized and careful since they now knew what their enemies were capable of and Sora was able to defend himself with his more powerful weapon. The four destroy all they opponents in little time, having them the only ones on the field once again.

"Alright," Donald and Vex shout.

"Now, let's find that bird," Sora says.

They make their way in the direction of the village. However, something stops them in their tracks: another crew of Heartless.

"Argh," Donald yelps out. "Where are they coming from?"

"That doesn't matter," Sora answers. "As long as they go back where they came from."

Sora charges forward and begins his attack until suddenly the fire around his blade goes out. The keyblade master looks in surprise at his weapon until he finally realizes what had happened.

"It must have been using my magic energy. Ah, man! What now?"

"Don't worry, Sora," Vex says as he runs to Sora's side. "We'll protect you."

From above, a batch of leaves begin falling onto the heroes. Looking up, they see a horrifying sight. The shadow griffin was resting in the trees and it lets out a shriek upon being sighted.

"Aaahhh," the four scream before running into a more open area.

More heartless spawn in front of them, closing them off from going any further. The griffin flies into view and lands behind the army of creatures, letting out another shriek. The group gets into ready stance.

"Where's Teloges," Vex asks. "Don't tell me he ran away."

Sora responds:" I don't know, but we can use his help right now."

From behind the four, an array of arrows shoot forward and impale into the large bird, having it let out an even louder shriek. They look behind them to find four archers with their bows out forward. The elves ready another line of arrows and fire them again at the giant winged-creature. In anger, the bird flies up into the air and lets out a power shriek that can be seen this time as it deformed the space it traveled through toward them. They jump out the way as the attack rips through the earth and destroys the trees and vegetation behind them.

Sora gets to his feet and says to the archers:"Who are you?"

"We are under the order of Madame Everstien as her bodyguards," one of the elves answer.

"Then you must be the archers that have been lost in these woods!"

"Lost? No, we've been investigating this entire area in searching for the source of the dark monsters, which is the reason our time of return was delayed. Wait...what are you four doing in our forest?"

"That doesn't matter. We have something more important to deal with first."

The blade-wielding Heartless charge at them with great speed. However, many of them get wiped out as the archers fire arrow after arrow at them with relentless assault.

"Go now," an archer says to the four. "We will handle these tyrants."

"The griffin," Sora replies: "We need to stop it!"

"It's flying toward the village! Hurry now!"

Sora nods, and the four heroes dash after the flying heartless, leaving the elves to take on the other Heartless. They use their weapons to slash through some of the rough vegetation before arriving at a village in peril. The griffin is now letting out shrieks that are destroying the elves' houses and causing some of the elf guards to fly back as they are hit by its force.

"Donald," Sora yells. "Use thundaga to get its attention!"

The mage nods and chants the incantation, having a barrage of lightning bolts shower its target. As they assume, the magic has no effect on it, however, they do get its attention. It turns around and lets out a shriek attack toward them. The four seperate as they dodge the attack.

"Spread out," Sora yells.

With that, they run out different directions to try to get a strategic advantage on the heartless. It responds by sending out short quick shrieks toward each of them, but they are able to avoid them. With great frustration, the griffin decides to continue its assault on the entire village. Sora starts climbing a tree near the bird. Vex does the same by climbing the tree opposite of Sora's. Donald begins firing firagas at the monster to keep its attention on him. Goofy, however, hides behind some rubble, trying his best not to be seen by the beast. Sora and Vex makes it to the top of the trees and nod in unison before leaping out onto the back of the griffin. In reaction, the griffin yelps and begins flapping its wings fast to shake its foes off its back. But the two keyblade wielders keep their grip on the bird.

"Okay, Vex," Sora shouts. "Attack!"

Vex slashes and slashes the bird's back, having it shriek the loudest they ever heard. The scream tears through the trees just ahead of it and continues to travel forward before fading just 100 meters away. The griffin executes a backflip maneuver in the air, which finally has the two fall off and into some trees just below them.

"Man, how are we going to stop this thing," Vex says.

"I don't know," Sora answers. "We've tried everything in our arsenal."

The bird yelps as an arrow flies into its chest. Standing on the ground in front of it was its attacker, Teloges.

"Teloges!"

The elf loads another arrow and fires it at the bird's right wing. He starts to step back as he continues to fire at the griffin, however, it follows after him as it slowly inches toward him as if his attacks were doing nothing. Teloges loads three arrows at the same time and fires them straight into the griffin's left wing, which seems to hurt the Heartless more than he thought. But it shakes it off and charges this time at the elf. Teloges rolls to the side as the bird rushes past him and he barely ducks under its right wing. The bird circles back around for another attack while Teloges dips into his quiver for another arrow...but when he checks, it sees that he was now out. The griffin lets out a shriek attack that sends the elf into the brush behind him.

"Teloges," Sora yells.

Sora and Vex jump from the tree they landed in and dash to the elf's rescue. But the griffin flaps its wings, creating a whirlwind that sends the two spinning into the air.

"Graviga," Donald shouts.

The spell keeps the two close enough to the ground for when the whirlwind finally goes away, they land on the ground without much damage. Vex gets to his feet and readies his keyblade.

"Vex," Sora replies:" Stay back!"

The boy responds:" I can do this. I just need to get my keyblade to throw out those projectiles like it did back at home."

Vex lets out a battle cry as he dashes toward the bird. He then swings his keyblade forward to try to use his weapon's special power, but it wasn't working. He stops and begins to run back, but the griffin sends out another shriek attack that sends the boy flying back toward the group through some earth and underbrush. Donald and Sora runs over to Vex to see if he was alright. But the only thing they see is a half-conscious Vex. The bird flies higher into the air. But after a very loud shriek, it launches down toward them. Goofy runs out of hiding and puts his shield out forward in hopes of blocking the bird's charge, although the chances of success were slim to none.

"Goofy," Donald quacks.

Goofy replies:" We won't let any Heartless stop us. Remember...we still need to find that door."

Sora puts on a slight smile and walks to his friend's side. He spawns his keyblade and gets into a guard stance. Donald does the same thing.

"This is it," Donald says.

The griffin just a few meters from them until Teloges jumps from out of the bush and directs his bow at the monster. But there isn't a normal arrow that is loaded. Directing at the Heartless is an arrow with angel wings on it and an arrowhead of gold. It glisters brightly upon just a ray of light and its wings blow gently in the light breeze around it. With the arrow out, the griffin suddenly stops and stares at Teloges. The elf stares into the bright orange eyes of its foe with no fear present in them. Yet, the griffin seems to be hesitate to attack the archer with the arrow now equipped. The two stare down one another. Teloges's eyes squenches as he pulls the arrow back even more.

The elf says to the Heartless:" I do not want to hurt you because you were my brother's pet. My brother would come visit you everyday, even though it was forbidden to come in reach of you. But Orion ignored the law because he knew you were special. That you were not born to live in solitude. You were born to help our race. Therefore, I will not hurt you."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy look to one another. They become disappointed at Teloges's remark, but he still has more to say.

"However, you are not my brother's pet. You are a creature from the shadows of darkness that need to be perished by the light of my brother's Angel Arrow. You will feel Orion's wrath for possessing his own beloved griffin. You will regret attacking my village. You will fall to the power of the Wintrel Elves!"

At that instant, a great wind starts to pick up around the elf and flurries of glistering light start to surround the archer. Upon the appearance of this glowing aura, Teloges's mind is taken to an interdimensional space where he is standing alone. As he looks around to figure out where he was, he hears a voice that echoes thoughout this large space he was present in.

"The Aura Key."

"What," Teloges says.

"Focus."

The elf's conscious is returned to reality and he was now holding a new weapon in his hand beside his bow and angel arrow. Sora, Donald, and Goofy stand in complete awe as they see the elf wielding what they knew was a keyblade. The design of the weapon has it bearing a white jewel sitting between the golden hilt and white blade, which at its end had a design of a star instead of the crown that sat at the end of Sora's weapon. The elf looks at his new weapon for a second before putting on a grin.

"This must be a special power of my brother's arrow. Thank you, Orion. I will not disappoint you."

He spins the keyblade in his hand and charges at the griffin. It shrieks out and proceeds with its attack. As it comes at the archer, Teloges quickly jumps into the air and lands on the creature's head. He sees the heartless's emblem upon the top of its skull and pulls back his keyblade.

He shouts:" Be gone!"

The Aura Key is thrusted into the symbol and great spurts of dark smog erupt from it. It shrieks as the elf leaps to the ground. The griffin begins swaying to and fro before falling onto the ground and becoming unconscious. At the same time, a cloud of dark smoke surrounds the creature and fades away within minutes. In view is the griffin in its normal state. The elf sighs in relief and turns toward the group.

He responds to them:" You couldn't do something as simple as that?"


	10. Backtrack

**Chapter 10: Backtrack**

The dust settles as the elf stares motionlessly at the fallen beast, loosening the grip of his new keyblade and let it fall to the ground. Yet, it disappears in a white light before it hits the earth. Teloges walks slowly toward the griffin step by step, his eyes more soft this time and his expression of that a sad child. Sora, Donald, and Goofy watch on in great surprise of discovering another keyblade in existence. They started to believe that this world was probably filled with others just like him and Vex. Possessers of keyblades without them even knowing. Whatever the case, they knew that the keyblade was made for one purpose: to destroy the Heartless.

Teloges is now sitting down next to the unconscious griffin, resting his head on its forehead eyes closed. It looked as though he had gone into a peaceful sleep. Whatever the case, the three do not want to disturb him. They decide to talk to the elf after he wakes back up. Two elves walk over to them, one picking up Vex, who was knocked out earlier by the griffin's attack.

The other says to the three:"Madame Everstien wishes to speak to you."

Sora replies looking over at Teloges:"What about him?"

"Leave him be for now."

They nod and follow the elf, while Vex is carried to the infirmary in the village. They walk through ruin and debree as they make their way to Everstien's place, seeing the village residents, young and old, helping clean up the unfortunate mess. Sora, Donald, and Goofy only wished that they did not come to the elven village in the first place. They arrive back at the village leader's quarters and are told to go in. They enter the room, finding Madame Everstien sitting silently in her chair. They walk over to her and take a seat in the chairs placed before her. Her eyes were closed, as if she was in deep thought, before opening them and looking straight at them.

She speaks from her somehow tired voice:"Never before in history have our village...no this world experienced such evil brought by the storm of those..."

"Heartless...," Sora finishes for her.

"Yes, heartless indeed. I sensed nothing within them. No emotions...no conscience...no soul."

That is what they are, Miss Everstien. Nothing."

Everstien shakes her head. "They can't just be nothing. They are something if they are able to cause so much destruction. Where do they come from?"

Sora had been asked that question so many times, he thought he had to write a book or something in order to get it out. To make things simpler for them all and the truth indeed, he replies:"We don't know."

Everstien rises from her seat and walks closer to them.

"And you three are the ones who are going to end this? Your quest most be such a difficult one. I feel that we need to help you somehow."

"There's no need for that, ma'am. We shouldn't have come here in the first place. We're sorry for your..."

"Don't be. I believe your visit here was actually a realization of some silent evil covering our world. Thanks to you, we can now send warning to all the other Wintrel civilizations on our planet of this Heartless threat and try to subdue this force before it subdues us. "

"Miss, can we ask you a question?"

"Why, yes. What is it?"

"Teloges...who is he?"

Everstien sighs and walks back to her seat. She sits down and begins.

"Teloges and his older brother, Orion, came to this village 100 years ago seeking shelter from the war. They were seperated from their parents in their home by the enemy and captured, yet they managed to escape. We took them in, but Orion stayed only temporary as he began training to fight the enemy under his own terms. He felt guilty for being so weak during the raid on his home. Fighting back was the only way for him to make up for it. Orion kept his promise of becoming the best, wiping out every foe that came his way. He became a legend known all throughout the world. Teloges looked up to his brother, always trying to keep up with him in skills. Although he wasn't as experienced, Teloges was very skilled for his age. He wanted to fight just as bad as his brother. But something unfortunate happened. Orion disappeared. So when his brother disappeared...his passion and happiness went, too. He began to disobey our laws and gave little respect to his superiors. Even I suffered from Teloges's rebellious attitude. But he still was loyal to his brother's legacy and has protected our village on his own terms ever since."

Goofy sniffs and wipes a tear from his eye, responding:"That's so sad."

Donald crosses his arms and looks over at his melodrama friend in sheer annoyance. Sora stands to his feet.

"Madame Everstien, we will help rebuild your village before we leave It's the least we can do for our trouble."

"No, I cannot ask for that. There is no need to stop you on your quest for cleansing our world. Let me give you something to help you on your journey."

Everstien pulls up her right draping sleeve, revealing several bracelets lining her arm. She takes a green one bearing an emblem of a sunflower-like plant and takes it off. Placing it in her left hand palm up, it begins to glow with an emerald color, lighting up their faces with its green light.

"This is the Wintrel Charm. It is endowed with our ancient magic that will protect you from the many evils you will encounter." The relic begins to float in the air. "Trust its power, and you will never have to worry about the dangers you will face."

The charm hovers toward Sora, who places his left hand out to receive the gift. Suddenly, his keyblade appears within his hand and fires a white beam at the item. Everyone gasps as the phenomenom occurs. Sora looks on in total confusion until the item disappears and reappears on the chain at the end of his weapon's handle. At the same time, his keyblade transforms. The handle went from gold to emerald and the blade acquired an engraving symbol. Also, the crown design changed into the design of a griffin. The same griffin that they just fought, too!

"It seems your weapon has inherited the charm's power," Everstien responds. "This should be much helpful in battle."

"Yeah," Sora replies in awe. "Thanks."

Everstien bows. "Good luck on your quest. I bid you farewell."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy give her a wave before exiting her room. But once they close the door, Everstien starts to get a headache. The room begins to grow darker and the atmosphere becomes more sinister. She drops into her seat, holding her forehead with her right hand, wondering what is causing such pain to her.

"This...feeling." Everstien looks up to the ceiling, but her focus was beyond just that height. "Something's coming to our world. Something much more evil than those Heartless. But what? What is it?"

The three heroes exit the building, but find Vex waiting for them outside. He runs up to them in great joy.

"Look, guys," Vex says. "I'm healed! Those elves used their powerful cure magic to help me. I feel better than ever!"

"That's good to here, Vex," Sora replies. "Once we talk to Teloges, we're leaving."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Bird's wings could be heard echoing throughout the air from the direction of the fallen griffin.

"What the..."

The four and some other elves run over to see what is happening only to find the griffin now on its feet and taking flight. On its back was the outrageous elf Teloges.

"Hey, Teloges," Sora shouts. "We need to talk to you!"

But the bird continued to rise into the air, until it paused and zoomed off into the distance.

"Where's he going," Goofy asks.

Sora shakes his head, hoping he did not just see that and sighs.

"Back to the ship."

The four sit in the cockpit, wondering what to do next. They had just lost an important aspect of their journey. As they drown in their disappointment, a red light begins to beep at the console, snapping them all back to reality.

"A call," Donald says.

"Open communication." Vex says.

After a press of a button, a screen comes down and the image of Jerild appears.

"Father," Vex replies excitedly. "What is it?"

Jerild's expression wasn't happy one. He had a more serious look than usual and his eyes did not need to show this since he was wearing his shades, as always.

He responds:"We need you all to return to Raseia City immediately. We just got a message that the Heartless are starting to migrate out of Elward Town. Also, the number of those creatures has greatly grown since our escape."

"We'll be right there," Sora says.

The engines are turned on immediately and the gummi ship speeds off back toward Raseia City.

Kingdom flies into the busy city and returns to the landing dock, where Jerild, the city mayor, Wessler, and some law enforcers stood waiting. The ship hovers down and the engines are shut off. The four rush out the vehicle and run up the group.

"It's good we caught you in," Jerild says. "or you would have been halfway around the world by now.

"But enough of the greeting," Mayor Sapphire says. "We have a critical situation here. Those Heartless were reported to be headed this way. Our spotter described flying ones, walking ones...and giant ones."

Donald gulps as he recognizes the last description.

"Now, my gummi ship fighters are ready to take off to stop their advancement."

"What do you want us to do," Vex asks.

"You four are going to be taken back to Elward Town."

"Four," Vex responds shockingly.

"Don't worry, Vex," Jerild says. "I'll be there with you."

"Why are we returning there," Sora asks.

Wessler walks forward and answers:" We believe the source of the Heartless is there. It is the only reason why they're spawning at a much faster rate than the other areas reported to us."

"A keyhole," Goofy asks.

"Maybe," Sora responds. "Okay, let's do this."

"What!" Donald exclaims jumping up on Sora and pulling him by his jacket. "Are you crazy?"

"Relax, Donald. We can take them, isn't that right, Goofy and Vex?"

The two look away in disagreement. Sora chuckles nervously.

"Don't worry," Sapphire says. " We will back you up. If Jerild is right..."

"Which is always," Jerild responds.

"IF he is right, your special weapons should be able to stop them there."

Sora nods and puts a thumbs up. The other three follow after him and give a smile.

"Let's move out!"

The four return to the ship, while Jerild and Wessler enter the Elwardragon with a few gunmen. They see numerous gummi ships, designed specifically for fighting with their aerodynamic design and Thunder-G weapons, fly over them toward their destination. The Kingdom and Elwardragon follow after them.

Communication is opened between the two ships.

Jerild:"This is the Elwardragon, the most sophisticated and advanced ship in the world. How can I help you?"

Vex:"Dad!"

Jerild:"Sorry, Vex. Just couldn't help it."

Wessler:"If we're done having fun, it's time to strategize."

Sora:"Well, in order to find what might be a keyhole, we'll need to find where most of the Heartless are swarming."

Jerild:"That won't be easy. They're all over the place."

Wessler:"You guys underestimate like there's nothing else great in this world."

On the screens of both ships, a visual of the land around them comes up.

Wessler:"My radar extends up to a 500 meter radius."

Donald:"An Esuna-G!"

Wessler:"That's right. If it detects a Heartless, it will be shown on screen in a red dot. The green dots are us and the fighters. Whereever we see the largest bulk of Heartless..."

Sora:"Is where we find the keyhole!"

Jerild:"I wonder what my town looks like now?"

Wessler:"You worry too much, Jerild, you know that?"

Vex:"Uh...guys..."

They all look forward to find a large number of dark figures appearing over the horizon.

Goofy:"Is that...!"

Sora:"Heartless."

The fighters get into a V formation, saying over radio:"Ready weapons."

Donald:"This is not going to work."

Sora:"Just believe, Donald."

Jerild:"Your shields should protect you four until you get to Elward. We will cover you."

Vex:"Be careful, Dad."

Jerild:"You, too, son."

The Elwardragon's weapons begin to turn on and position their aim forward. Kingdom's shield becomes visible and the ship positions itself in front of Jerild's.

Wessler:"Hee-haw! Let's show these scum what we're made of!"


	11. Flight Turmoil

**Chapter 11: Flight Turmoil**

"I'm driving," Donald exclaims, as they approach the Heartless swarming in the distance.

"There's so many..." Vex says. "How will we be able to stop them?"

Sora exhales greatly and replies:" We'll have to try. If the keyhole is where Jerild says it is, then we can stop the Heartless from entering this world."

"And if we don't?"

Sora hesitates before answering:" I don't know."

Wessler's voice comes booming through the speaker:" Everyone, ready?"

"Ready," Donald answers.

The Elwardragon and Kingdom fly high into the air to give space for the fighters to battle in. The closer they get, the more distinct the Heartless become. The Darksides were indeed present. About five of them were with three on the ground and two flying. And they knew what those giant beasts were capable of, which worried them more. But the fighters didn't care as they began starting the battle by firing comet lasers at the Heartless, their destructive beams tearing through each one that came in contact with them. They follow up with a barrage of shots from their Thunder-Gs, which are able to take out a great amount of the creatures with little problem. But the attacks inflicted on the Darksides did but little damage, and each time they were hit, they seem to grow angrier and more aggressive.

Jerild:"We'll have to keep behind the fighter's front if we want to be able to get through them."

Donald:"I was afraid of that."

The two ships position themselves in their designated places behind the fighters and prepare for a rough ride. The three Darksides on the ground take flight and immediately make their way toward them with great haste. The fighters react by getting into a circle formation and fire laser after laser at them. But their assault does not slow down the beasts, resulting in them ordering a seperation.

Jerild:"They're going to seperate! Looks like we'll have to maneuver around the Heartless. Stay behind us as best as you can!"

Donald:"Don't worry about us."

Vex looks over to Sora with a worried look, and the keyblade master returns the same expression. But no one is more frightened than Goofy, who is cowering behind his seat while he rapidly bites his finger nails. The fighters execute their new formation and fly around the Darksides as they continously fire on them, but one of the gummi ships unfortunately gets knocked out of the air by a single swipe of claw, sending the ship down into the fleet of ground Heartless, who begin to engulf the ship with relentless approach.

Jerild:"They ate a ship!"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy were just as surprised themselves. They couldn't believe how powerful the Heartless had become. It was as if they were given a super pill that made them...Super Heartless. But only an idea as this would spawn from the mind of the paranoid Goofy. The Elwardragon and Kingdom swing down under one of the Darksides and dive lower to the ground, keeping their distance from both. Yet, the much smaller Heartless were now advancing on them, which beared the purple Heartless emblem that they saw on the possessed Griffin back at Wintrel.

"Alright," Wessler says. "It's time to take out the trash!"

With a push of a button, numerous lasers are shot from Elwardragon at the advancing flyers, relinquishing many of them into a smog of violet. Some of them grab onto the ship with their claws, but Jerild deals with them by firing on them with the free-moving Thunder-G weapons they had. Although Kingdom is left to deal with the ones that got past them, Donald impressively evades them with rolls and twists. However, the daredevil maneuvers cause Goofy to become a little sick in the stomach and his face begins to turn green.

"Don't you dare," Donald warns his ill friend.

They look ahead and see the small Heartless stretching from miles and miles in view. The only welcoming sight was the sight of Elward Town.

Wessler:"We're almost there, guys. Just hold on a little bit longer."

Jerild:"Uh-oh. Trouble!"

Behind the two ships, a Darkside was pursuing, its eyes glowing increasingly orange with rage and its massive wings flapping the air with thumping sounds.

Jerild:"You have another one of those slow effect missiles, Wessler?"

Wessler:"...no, I'm afraid not."

Jerild:"What are we going to do?"

Wessler:"We'll just have to do it the old fashion way. Evasion."

Donald:"I'm ready when you are."

Jerild:"Ah, man, we got another coming right behind it!"

Tailing the Darkside was a flying figure that resmebled the creature...yet, it was smaller.

Wessler:"Hmph. Two shouldn't be a problem."

Donald:"That's what you think."

Kingdom was now moving right and left as it evaded swings from the giant hands of Darkside. One of its attacks makes contact, breaking the ship's shield immediately.

Donald:"Our shield is gone!"

Goofy:"One more hit and we're done for!"

Sora:"Stay focused, Donald! You can do it!"

Vex was now holding his head, scared of what may happen next. He was beginning to feel weak. His despair was staring to return again. He wanted this nightmare to end. To end now!

Wessler:"Wait. That's not a Heartless...it's a giant bird!"

An image of the strange animal is shown to Kingdom, and what it is shocks the four heroes.

"It's Teloges!"

The elf was gaining on the Darkside with speed unlike any other thanks to his brother's griffin.

Jerild:"Who's Teloges?"

Sora;" He's a Wintrel Elf. A friend we met in the Wintrel Village. We thought he left, so what is he doing here?"

The griffin catches up with Darkside, positioning itself over the Heartless's head. Teloges, then, jumps from his feathery friend while he spawns his keyblade and lands on the creature's back. He takes his weapon and slashes the right wing, having the monster shake to get the annoying elf off. Teloges reacts by jumping off himself with the griffin catching him on the way down.

Vex:"Woah, look at him go!"

Sora:"And he's using the keyblade!"

The griffin flies ahead and turns back toward Darkside. Teloges chants "Blaze Keiro", which causes his weapon to suddenly ignite. WIth his weapon power-up, he slashes through the mosnter's arm as the griffin flies right past it, causing its limb to catch fire for a few seconds.

"Let's finish this," Teloges says, raising his keyblade into the air. "Ramuh Strike!"

A puff of clouds in the sky begin to form above them and grow darker. Thunder can be heard rumbling though the puffy material. At the same time, the Darkside turns to its attacker and flies toward him. But a lightning bolt strikes his keyblade, which creates a sphere of electricity at the tip of the weapon. But more bolts of lightning strike, causing it to increase in size.

Wessler:"What is he doing?"

Goofy:"Hey, Donald. That looks sorta like that Thunder spell you have."

Donald:"Yeah, but more powerful!"

After the spell is done, Teloges points it toward the approaching Darkside and releases the sphere of thunder. But the shadow monster doesn't back down, still charging at the elf with complete rage. But when the projectile comes in contact, sparks of electricity run down Darkside's body before diminishing it in a puff of smoke.

Goofy:"It's..."

Sora:"Gone!"

Teloges grins and has his griffin fly ahead of Elwardragon and Kingdom.

Sora:"I think he wants us to follow him."

Wessler:"Next stop...Elward!"

Donald:"That's what I'm afraid of."

They zoom over the Heartless and head straight into Elward Town...


End file.
